Revenge Ain't So Sweet, Is It?
by irishpepsigurl
Summary: Attempting to get revenge on Mavado for burning down my village is one thing, but attempting to get revenge on Sub-Zero is a completely different matter. *Sequel to Teacher vs. Student, but this can be read on its own.*
1. Revenge Ain't So Sweet, Is It?

**The sequel to Teacher vs. Student! **

**Title: Revenge Ain't So Sweet, Is It? **  
**Disclaimer: I own nothing except for Lucipher and Hadoken! **  
**Rating: T of course. **

**Hope you like the first chapter! Enjoy! **

**Note: Told from Lucipher's (a.k.a. Luci) point of view. **

* * *

Shang Tsung left half of the village in shambles. It was a village I had taken refuge in, but of course, I had always worried someone would find me. I suppose I shouldn't say that it was Shang Tsung, as it was more of Mavado who left this little village like this. Mavado had been sent by Shang Tsung to take control of it, and since I didn't know he was coming, there was nothing I could've done. Now I'm out for revenge against two people: Sub-Zero and Mavado. I looked over my shoulder and shook my head, walking away from the village.

A wolf dog followed after me, one that the locals had taken care of. They had taken to calling him Hadoken, so that's what I called the wolf dog. "Hadoken! Go back to the village," I told him, pointing back to the half ruined village. His black muzzle twitched slightly as he sat back on his haunches. He was a scruffy animal, his fur matted and his right eye had a scar running through it. He looked hungry, but I didn't want to feed him and myself. "Hadoken!" I said sharply. The black wolf dog barked at me.

I rolled my eyes and continued my trek across the hill that overlooked the village. Hadoken followed me, and after a while I just gave in and let him. I was a freaking Cryomancer, and I was stuck shifting from village to village, searching for what? Nothing, I wasn't looking for anything except for peace and quiet. I had left Sub-Zero (my teacher) five years prior, and I hadn't seen him since.

I trekked into the forest and sat before the stream. Hadoken fished with his paw, but he couldn't catch anything, so he lay down on the grass and closed his eyes. I removed my hood and looked at my reflection in the water. Even though I was only 25, my hair was snow white, like Sub-Zero's hair, and like Frost's hair. I didn't look old, it was just that my hair had changed colours. I sighed and set my ice staff down next to me. Around this village, it was very cold, but it didn't bother me.

For a moment, I thought about what to do next. As I was mulling my options over, I heard rustling in the nearby bushes. I jumped to my feet and pulled my hood back on, picking up my ice staff and holding it in front of me. Hadoken got to his feet and snarled, teeth bared. I was unprepared to see the blind swordsman, Kenshi, appear out of the bushes.

Last I remembered, I had been bitter and angry. Well, that was when I had left, and when I had left I had been angry and upset. Now, I was thrilled to see Kenshi. He, along with Ermac, had taken good care of me and trained me well, during the month prior to the Mortal Kombat tournament. He sensed my presence and straightened up, looking thoughtful. I had forgotten how to speak for the moment – I didn't think I could speak, actually.

"Who are you?" he asked. I face palmed and remembered that of course Kenshi couldn't _see _me unless he heard my voice or came in physical contact with me. Well, his version of seeing, anyways. I called Hadoken down and waited to see if Kenshi recognized my voice.

"Hadoken, down," I said firmly. The black wolf dog sat down and waited for something to happen. I blinked and then looked back up at Kenshi. "Kenshi?" I asked, recovering my voice enough to speak directly to him. For a moment, he stood there.

"Lucipher?" he asked curiously.

"I prefer Luci," I replied, waving a hand at his comment. He grinned crookedly and I walked over to him, followed by Hadoken. I had changed a lot in the past five years, and I had grown to miss Ermac and Kenshi. I hugged him, although the height discrepancy was a little much. He seemed surprised, but he patted me on the head. "Oh yeah, make me feel like a dog," I snorted. Hadoken barked when I used the word dog. "What are you doing out here?" I questioned, stepping back.

"Looking for Mavado," he responded. A dark look crossed my face. Even when that name was mentioned, I got angry. "He destroyed a village close by."

"I know. I was living there," I responded, grinding my teeth together.

"So you were the white haired Cryomancer everyone was telling me about? They said you were going to go after Mavado. I figured it was Sub-Zero," Kenshi replied. I snorted at the sound of that name, as well. "I could use a little assistance, I suppose." The only issue with teaming up with Kenshi was that I may have to face Sub-Zero. I did want revenge on my old master, but I didn't think I could face him just yet. "Don't worry, Sub-Zero isn't with me, and I don't think I'll be seeing him for a while."

"Alright," I agreed. Hadoken sniffed the air for a moment as Kenshi's grin disappeared. I looked around as we heard branches snap. The air cooled considerably, even I, a Cryomancer, felt it. My breath hitched in my throat and I wondered if it was Subs, already appearing when Kenshi had clearly said he wasn't with him. Before I knew what had happened, Frost leapt in between Kenshi and me. Hadoken snarled fiercely as Frost turned to me, and I held up my ice staff.

"I'm not here to fight," Frost snorted, holding up her hands defensively. I glanced at Kenshi, who walked around carefully, as Frost eyed him angrily. She ignored him and then looked back to me, saying, "I know you hate Sub-Zero, and I hate him, too. I'm sick of Noob and Smoke is going all soft on us. What do you say to getting together and getting our revenge on Sub-Zero?" She held out her hand. I glanced at it and shook my head. I wouldn't team up with Frost. "Come on," she said impatiently. "At least shake my hand. Let's be allies."

I knew something was up, but I wanted to know what it was. I reached out my hand but she jerked hers back. "No, no, take off your gloves," she instructed. I narrowed my eyes but pulled them off slowly and deliberately, handing them to Kenshi. I then proceeded to hold my hand. Frost stared at it for a moment. "So, your arms have turned to ice as well," she muttered under her breath. "Allies," she said, a little more loudly after that. We shook hands, but I wasn't about to trust her.

The white haired Cryomancer smirked and backed away, disappearing into the foliage. I meant to take my gloves back from Kenshi, but he dropped them on the ground and took my hands in his. My face flushed red slightly, but all he was doing was seeing whether or not what Frost had said was true. "So you share that quality with Sub-Zero," Kenshi commented, picking my gloves back up. He held them out to me and I took them quickly, yanking my gloves back on. "Only powerful Cryomancers have that quality."

"I'm not that powerful," I replied, but I was smirking. I knew I was powerful, and I know that makes me sound arrogant, but I still figured I was powerful.

"Yeah right," Kenshi snorted, grinning again. "Why don't we head off, before Frost shows up again?" I nodded and we started through the dense forest. Snow fell around us, but it wasn't such a big deal. Hadoken stayed behind us, but we could always tell that he was there. The thing about Hadoken is that his right eye is blood red. He got in a fight with a white wolf that the villagers call Farryn, so there you go. I watched him walk along behind us. When I arrived in the village, Hadoken attacked me.

I fought the wolf off, but I was hurt. He realized that I was not an intruder, and so he followed me around afterward, as if he wanted to pay me back for the damage he had caused. Hadoken trotted a little closer to Kenshi's heels, nipping playfully. I giggled and kept walking, as Kenshi paused and knelt down next to the wolf. He put his hand on Hadoken's muzzle, probably to get a feel for what he looked like. "Kenshi, we should keep going," I commented, as snowflakes fell around us.

He nodded and Hadoken ran ahead of us, so I started to think. "You've changed quite a bit," Kenshi commented, breaking my train of thought. I looked at him and nodded, pulling my hood back down. He could sense that I had only made a slight movement, so he continued by saying, "I expected you to be angry or upset." I shrugged and sighed.

"I think five years gave me time to chill, literally," I answered. But now, a fury so great was instilled within me, because of Mavado's actions. That village was like a second home to me, and it was in ruins, barely alive at this point. What I had known for five years had been ripped violently from my icy cold hands. Mavado would pay for that. Kenshi must've sensed the welling anger inside me, so he rested a hand on my shoulder in a caring manner.

"Mavado won't get away with it," he told me reassuringly. I sighed again.

"I hope so," I responded, smacking my fist into my palm angrily. I looked over at Kenshi, who just nodded. The rest of the walk was in silence, neither of us making jokes. I was too angry about Mavado, and Shang Tsung… And what was Frost's problem; she had some serious issues… I kept thinking these things through, until I had a headache. I rubbed my temples and sighed in exhaustion. I realized that I wouldn't have the warm bed that I had slept in while living in the village.

I'd be sleeping on the ground.

I sighed again and sat down on the snowy ground. Kenshi sat next to me, as Hadoken appeared a few moments later. I didn't want to sleep in the snow. Even though I was a Cryomancer, that didn't mean I liked sleeping in the soft, powdery substance. I pressed my gloved hand into the thick, heavy snow and made an imprint. I took Kenshi's hand and pressed it into the snow, making an imprint next to my own. I tossed his hand aside and looked at both imprints.

Obviously, his hand was much larger than mine.

I don't know why I did that, but it didn't hurt anything. Kenshi shook his head and leaned up against a tree, as the sky became darker and darker with every passing moment. I foraged for some fire wood and then started a fire, sitting a few feet away from the blind swordsman. I didn't want him to get too cold, as I tended to emanate a cold sort of feeling, physically, anyways. I didn't know what to say, either, so I kept quiet. I figured Kenshi liked the quiet, mainly because he was blind, but then again, it could've been an ill misconception.

How did I end up here?

Well, I was just your average college student, until I found out that I had elemental powers and that Mortal Kombat was _real_! So Luna and I got sucked into this world, where I began to discover how epically stupid Sub-Zero can be, and how sweet Kenshi actually is. Then, I realized that pain hurts like hell, when people say it doesn't hurt, they're faking it. You try getting stabbed in the stomach with a freaking Kori Blade and _then_ tell me about pain. So then, while exploring the village, I discovered something.

I'm supposedly a part of the Lin Kuei tribe.

When I was just a baby, I was taken away from my home and brought to the mortal world of Earth, you know, what I consider my real home. So it turns out that I'm from Earthrealm, ain't that funny? And Luna is from Scorpion's tribe, so that makes her the second to last surviving member. She was taken while she was just a baby. So I learned about that, which is part of the reason why I'm avoiding Sub-Zero.

I sighed and looked over at Kenshi. He looked like he was deep in thought, so I left him alone.

I was tired, so I shifted so that I was more comfortable. I rested against the tree, but it was very uncomfortable, and I wasn't feeling very pleasant. I ignored it for the moment and closed my eyes. Maybe if I could just get some rest, I'd feel a little better and less tired in the morning…

**

* * *

**

Long chapter. Review, tell me what you think! Hope you liked the first chapter. :D Please, hit the review button. :P

**l  
V**


	2. Frosty Love

**Thanks to Akiane Lee, deegirlsjs, pokemondude, Paritheikae for reviewing so far! I appreciate it! :D **

**Title of Chapter: Frosty Love  
Disclaimer: I own nothing except for Lucipher and Hadoken!  
Warning: Action sequences and language! **

_**

* * *

**_

Next Day

Kenshi and I walked through the forest, reveling in the quiet silence that surrounded us. I had nothing to say, no apologies, no questions – nothing. I twirled my ice staff like a person in the colour guard might twirl their gun, or their baton. I still had a lot of Earth knowledge; just because I was actually from the Lin Kuei didn't mean I didn't remember things from my child hood. I sighed as the word Lin Kuei slipped into my mind – which brought up the subject of Sub-Zero. I stopped walking and stared at the ground angrily.

"Damn Sub-Zero!" I shouted in fury.

Kenshi turned around and shook his head, walking back to me. I sighed in frustration, pushing past the blind swordsman. It made no difference what I said, as long as I got my revenge. "What exactly do you plan on doing if you run into Sub-Zero?" Kenshi queried. I turned around and stalked back over to him, prodding him in the chest with my index finger as I spoke.

"I'm going to kick his sorry Grandmaster ass all the way to the Netherrealm! His sorry brother can kill him for all I care!" I replied hotly, stepping back. I realized I had startled Kenshi a little bit and I suddenly felt slightly guilty. "Sorry Kenshi," I apologized. "I'm just a little upset about the whole Sub-Zero thing."

"It's quite alright," he replied, recovering quickly. "I'd be angry, as well." I nodded apologetically but a crooked grin crossed Kenshi's face. I gave him a stern-yet-curious look and he shrugged, saying, "Then I guess I'm going to have to control you for the time being." It took me a moment to get what he was saying, and when I did –

"_Kenshi_!"

"Sorry!" Kenshi replied quickly, rubbing the back of his neck. "Just don't do anything too irrational."

"Oh, I'll do something irrational alright," I said dangerously. He walked past me and I stared after him for a moment, before following. We reached the brim of the forest, and he led me to a small ledge that overlooked the Lin Kuei palace. I glared down angrily, as Kenshi started down. The snow was falling harder now, and Hadoken was hungry. "Go hunt, Hadoken," I ordered. The wolf dog sniffed and then ran into the forest as I ran after Kenshi. If there was anybody I trusted in this world, it was him.

We walked in silence, coming to the gate quickly. The guards stood in our path and looked each of us over. "I am here to see Sub-Zero," Kenshi explained. "He's been expecting me." The guards nodded towards me. They could tell that I was Lin Kuei, but they had never seen me before, so they wouldn't let me pass. "This one is Lucipher. She's a part of the clan." I was dressed in a black t-shirt, and black pants, but over that I was wearing something similar to Sub-Zero's attire. The blue vestments with the Lin Kuei symbols and the grayish-black pants, along with combat boots.

I raised an eyebrow coldly.

The guards moved aside and let us both in. We entered the palace and from that point on I followed Kenshi. It was funny; in the palace, it was as if I was the blind one and Kenshi was my guide. We came to Sub-Zero's quarters and my companion knocked lightly. The door shifted open and the Grandmaster appeared, looking at Kenshi first. He gave me a glance – and that's when I realized that he didn't recognize me. I hid my smirk as Subs let us in. He and Kenshi got along well…

"This is Luci," Kenshi explained, gesturing to me. Sub-Zero was taken aback as he looked over at me. I looked away, angry. You don't forgive someone for almost killing you. I don't think Kenshi wanted me around Sub-Zero, for more reasons than just the fact that I was about to attack the Grandmaster. "She's accompanying me on my search for Mavado. A nearby village was destroyed; she was living there."

"Ah, I see," Sub-Zero responded. "So she'll be traveling with us?" I froze and turned my eyes to Kenshi. He looked sheepish.

"Yes," he replied. I had to travel with Sub-Zero? I glared at Kenshi, resisting the urge to slap him. I turned on my heels and started out, storming down the corridors. I bypassed Frost, who was surprised to see me. She darted after me, icy eyes ablaze. I didn't care what she had to say, or what Kenshi had to say, either. I would find Mavado on my own – and I would kill him. Frost rested a hand on my shoulder and I rounded on her, blasting her back with a ball of ice. She growled but didn't return the attack.

"I didn't know you were in the palace," Frost said, voice angry. "We're allies, remember? You could've warned me!"

"You work for Saibot and Quan Chi!" I snapped. "You're no ally of mine!"

"I hate Quan Chi! I'm only working for him so that I can kill Sub-Zero!" Frost hissed quietly.

"Kill Sub-Zero my foot – you're practically in love with that guy!" I shot back. When I said that, I meant that she was in love with Quan Chi. But she took it the wrong way – thinking that I meant she was in love with Sub-Zero. Her pale face portrayed her shock and she stepped back. So she was in love with Sub-Zero? What has this world come to? I suddenly felt a wave of sympathy wash over me, only because I partly knew what it was like to be in love and not to have the feelings returned.

"That's exactly why I have to kill him!" she snarled, turning around and running off. I stood there in shock, looking after her. There was no way she was telling the truth. I didn't feel as angry as I had earlier, in fact I felt a little bit of guilt for running out on Kenshi like that. I sighed and walked back down the corridors, hoping to find the blind swordsman somewhere.

Sure enough, there he was, waiting at the end of the corridor. "Kenshi, I apologize," I said as I walked up to him. He waved off my comment, looking a little relieved. "Can I ask you a question?" He nodded and together we walked outside and sat on the snowy ground. "Do you think Subs has feelings for Frost?" Kenshi seemed surprised but he answered nonetheless.

"I don't think so."

"Don't be nice, Kenshi."

"OK, I think he does have some form of…_love _for her, but it's nothing in comparison to how he feels about you," Kenshi replied quietly. "When I first met you, I didn't understand why _you _were Sub-Zero's apprentice. Raiden is an odd lesser god, if you know what I mean, but after I saw the way he reacted to you I understood. When you two are together, it's almost like a chemical reaction." It sounded like it pained Kenshi to say this, so I rested a hand on his knee to silence him.

I wanted to hear no more.

"I don't believe you," I sighed. "But for now, I'm not willing to press the issue."

"Why did you ask, then?" Kenshi queried, eyebrows furrowing.

"Because Frost wants to kill Sub-Zero not only because of her imprisonment, but because she has feelings for him," I responded. I found it easy to talk about this kind of thing around Kenshi. Ermac was the only one who could get me to spill my deepest darkest secrets, but Kenshi – he was a close second. "And believe you me, Frost can have him." Kenshi gave me another crooked smile as Hadoken trotted through the snow. The wolf dog sat down obediently as I brushed snowflakes out of his fur.

Sub-Zero appeared a few moments later, beckoning to us. I found myself glaring at him, but what good would it do? I couldn't hurt him right now, because Kenshi was here. Speaking of Kenshi, he stood up and offered me his hand. I took it and he helped me to my feet, although I didn't need it. "We should probably head out," Sub-Zero advised. "Mavado is close by."

Kenshi looked a little distant as we left the safety of the palace. "I sense something following us," he said softly. I looked over my shoulder as a growl rumbled in Hadoken's chest. Sub-Zero stopped and looked around, as we heard footsteps. To our surprise, Mileena and Reptile appeared. What would they be doing in a place as cold as this? Reptile laughed; it was disgusting. Mileena just smirked as she drew out her weapons. "You fight Mileena, I'll fight Reptile," Kenshi instructed; I nodded once.

I summoned my water sword and leapt forward, slashing at Mileena. She moved out of the way and thrust her weapon forward. I jumped back and sliced at her with the water sword, but she dodged. Now, I wasn't exactly one for killing people, but Mileena was trying to kill me and she was attacking me. I tossed the water sword up in the air and sucked out the water, bending it into a cobra made of water. The water cobra hissed and spat, as the icy sword came down and planted itself in the snowy ground.

Mileena sliced at my water cobra, but it reformed itself and slithered forward on my command. I twisted my hand and the cobra coiled, preparing to strike. Mileena glared at me and lurched forward, and just as she did, I shot my hand up in the air. The water cobra shot up and bit her in the ankle; I jerked my hand down and the water cobra pulled Mileena to the snowy earth. She screamed in fury and pain, because the cobra was slowly freezing her, from the ankle up.

Soon, she was frozen solid, a look of pain etched in her features. I smirked and made a fist, crushing the water cobra in the process. I grabbed my sword and rested it on my shoulder as I looked at the frozen woman before me. I heard Hadoken snarl once, so I turned around to find Kenshi and Sub-Zero fending off Reptile. Hadoken was biting the large, mutant creature's tail. Kenshi held out his hand as a green aura surrounded it, and he used his telekinetic powers to twist Reptile's arm behind his back.

Reptile screeched in pain, and Kenshi's other hand glowed green as he used his telekinesis to pull Reptile to his knees. Sub-Zero blasted the suffering creature with a ball of ice, and then brought out his kori blade. Kenshi moved his hand down slightly and Reptile was thrown to the ground. Sub-Zero raised his blade and for a moment I wondered what would happen if I defended Reptile. I could try and stop my companions from killing him, but this was not my battle. Wouldn't it make me a bad person to let them go ahead and make the final move?

I held my ground, and watched as Sub-Zero brought the blade down on Reptile's back. Blood gushed out and stained the pure white snow, and I turned away. I could've saved him. But I didn't. I felt guilty, as I listened to Reptile spit foul words as death drew nearer to him. I looked over my shoulder and watched as Kenshi made a fist and Reptile started to choke. This, I could not take.

"Kenshi!" I cried out, before I could stop myself. He looked over at me (although he could not see me and I could not see his eyes because of the blind fold) and his brow furrowed. "Stop, I know Reptile is going to die, but don't make it any more painful than it needs to be!" My heart was pounding in my chest; I could feel the blood pulsing through my veins. Steam rose from my sword for a split second. Kenshi nodded once and opened his hands, palms face up. The green aura left them and Reptile stopped choking, but his death was a few minutes closer.

I couldn't help myself; I walked over to Reptile and put a hand on his shoulder, forming an ice dagger in my hand. "He's in too much pain; I can't stand it," I admitted, aiming for his heart. It would be far less painful, and I cringed as I plunged the dagger into his scaly skin. He sputtered once, as blood gushed over my black gloves, and he died there, in the snow. "I hate killing people," I admitted again, tossing my dagger away. Kenshi nodded; he understood how I felt. Sub-Zero, however, was less understanding than Kenshi.

"Compassion is a trait one should not have in battle," he said sternly.

"Shut it, old man," I snapped. My voice was shaky, however. (Yes, I know Sub-Zero isn't old in any case, but I just said what came to mind.) "You're not my teacher; you abandoned me and left Kenshi and Ermac to do your job. Now that I'm back, you expect me to listen to you? I think not! Hadoken," I started, as my black wolf dog snarled. Hadoken looked up at me with his right, blood red eye, and his left, pale yellow eye. Kenshi held out his hand and forced Hadoken to the ground.

"Calm down, Luci," Kenshi eased, voice soft.

"I will not calm down!" I exclaimed. Hadoken tried to thrash around but he was held firmly in place. I backed up a step and formed another ice dagger. I threw it at Kenshi's hand, and it was a direct hit. He pulled the dagger out of his hand as blood oozed out, dripping onto his already-red boots. I realized what I had done – out of anger, of all things. Hadoken was freed from Kenshi's grasp, and I snapped my fingers. He followed me as I ran into the forest, too upset to stay with them, at the moment.

**

* * *

**

Whaddaya think? Please review!


	3. Black Dragon Turned Red

**Thanks to the readers and reviewers so far! I appreciate all the reviews, and I read every one of them! :D**

**Title of Chapter: Black Dragon Turned Red**  
**Disclaimer: I own nothing except for Lucipher and Hadoken! **  
**Warning: Action sequences with _some_ blood! **

**Enjoy! **

* * *

I came across a path (that was of course covered in snow, but everything was covered in snow) and took it wearily. Shadows flickered here and there, as the gray sky cried more teary snowflakes. The weather reflected how I felt in a sense, as gray is a dull and bleak colour, and I was feeling that way. I didn't watch where I was going, nor did I really care. And in my foolishness, I failed to realize that a figure was lurking close by. It lunged and I was caught off guard, but I scrambled to my feet and drew out my ice staff.

A woman dressed in purple tights and a purple halter top was standing before me, with twin katanas in her hands. She held them defensively, a wild light in her eyes. "You're an ally of Kenshi!" she hissed, lurching forward. I smacked her with the staff, sending her flying. I held my weapon defensively and waited for her to make a move. Instead, she spoke, "My name is Tasia, and you will die!" I turned around and ran (yes, I know running is cowardly but I didn't feel like dying) but she sent her katana soaring through the air.

It got my right arm, so I dove into a heap of snow and deflected the next attack with my ice staff. Who was this Tasia chick, anyways? And who did she think she was, running around trying to kill Kenshi's allies? I got to my feet, a little unsteadily, watching as blood dripped across my arm. Angered, I jumped forward and our weapons connected – we sparred for a moment. I kicked her in the gut and she fell backwards, seemingly growling. I ran through my Mortal Kombat knowledge and tried to remember anything I learned about Tasia.

And then it hit me! She was part of the Black Dragon clan! I stepped out of the way of an attack, and hit her in the back with my staff. She fell to her knees, but she cut my knee. I kicked her in the side, blood trickling across my pants. She fell to the ground, but she rolled out of the way of my foot and slashed at me. I couldn't get my staff up quick enough, so she slit my hand. I yelped in pain, but I stomped my boot against her gut. She howled in pain, and we both continued to beat the crap out of each other.

I knew she was trying to kill me – I didn't want to kill people, but if I wanted to live and/or escape I had to subdue her – and the only way to do that was to kill her. I tossed my staff to the side and summoned my ice daggers. She dodged my first few attacks, and I managed to avoid hers. I kicked her in the temple and struggled to recover, but I managed to plunge one dagger into her thigh. She screamed in pain, so I plunged the other one into her stomach. She fell to the ground and I pulled both daggers out.

"End it now, fool!" she declared, spitting a bit of blood. I was very tempted to take her up on her offer, and I raised my dagger. I couldn't bring myself to plunge it down into her; I stood there with my boot on her stomach for the longest time. If I let her escape, she'd come back to kill me. If I killed her, it may haunt me for the rest of my life. "Hah! You are just as weak as your ally, Kenshi!" she spat, a smirk tugging at her lips. I narrowed my eyes and glared at her. "When you let me go, I will go and destroy Kenshi, the blind swordsman!"

I couldn't kill this woman. And it pained me, because I knew she would go after Kenshi. In my hesitation, she judo chopped me in the bend of my knee, causing me to fall to the ground – hard. I winced in pain as she stood over me, her foot on my stomach and her katanas in hand. "I should kill you now!" she announced. I glared up at her, feeling an overwhelming sense of anger and helplessness. "But I will not. Be warned, Kenshi will soon be in your place." She removed her foot from my gut and walked away.

I just lay there on the ground, feeling a little dejected. She had managed to defeat me just like that. I sat up, pain running dully through my body. I spotted the blood in the snow, and remembered that I was somewhat injured from the fight. Getting to my feet, I wondered where I was to go next.

Now was one of those times when I wished that Kenshi was with me. For example, in the five years when I was living in the little village, I found myself wishing that Kenshi was around to guide me. He knew this world much better than I did, and I often times got lost in the forest. It was strange how I fixed that fear – I'd imagine that Kenshi (and even sometimes Sub-Zero) was with me and that we weren't lost at all. It helped on certain occasions, but now was one of the many times that it didn't work.

I sighed and continued my walk, but as it got darker, I realized that I wasn't getting anywhere. I needed to find a place where I could sleep and attempt to wrap up my arm, hand, and knee. Stupid Tasia! How could I have been so blind? Hadoken accompanied me into the forest where we found a good place to camp and I started a fire. My black wolf dog rested his head on his paws and fell asleep soon afterward. What to do, what to do, what to do…

_**Next Day **_

I continued my journey through the forest's path. Today it was cloudy, as usual, and it was still snowing. Out here, in really never stopped snowing. When it did, half of it all melted and then it started snowing again. Not that I was complaining or anything, I mean I had always liked snow. But enough about snow! My wounds had healed up nicely, due to my freezing capabilities. But there was one thing that bothered me…

I was lonely.

Me, of all people. I was _lonely _without a human companion. At least Tasia was a living, breathing, talking human. Hadoken is a loyal and faithful companion, but he's just not the same. I sighed as I walked along the snowy path, my feet making light footprints in the snow. I wondered if Kenshi was OK with Sub-Zero – I was sure that he was. He could take care of himself, it wasn't like I was needed by anyone. Hadoken didn't even really need me, and neither did Sub-Zero.

As I mulled these thoughts over, something rustled in the trees. I glanced around and readied my ice staff, spinning it. Of course, none other than Frost leapt onto the path in front of me. She looked at me curiously. "How come you didn't chase after me in the palace yesterday?" she queried. I was a little surprised by her question.

"I felt bad for you. So I decided to find Kenshi instead," I responded. I was just pleased to be able to have some form of human contact at this point in time.

"_You _felt bad for _me_? Ugh, you _are _perfect!" Frost said in disgust. "This is why Sub-Zero holds you so high."

"I'm not perfect!" I said hotly. This was very offensive to me – especially coming from Frost. I was not beautiful, I was not amazing, I was not funny, and I was not perfect. I was "boring" and very "intense" and that's what people thought of me. The reason it was offensive was because Frost was beautiful, amazing in her own way, and she was slightly amusing, to me, anyways. "Back off, Frost!" I added, brandishing my water sword. Frost snorted and turned her back.

I waited for a moment, before she turned and attacked me with ice daggers. Some ally; I knew I couldn't trust her. This was some freaking one-woman ambush. I managed to fend her off, but I wasn't about to fight anyone else. I had fought Tasia and that was good enough for me. I avoided her attacks, kneed her in the gut and ran like hell.

Adrenaline kept me going; loyalty kept Hadoken going. We pounded through the snow, not daring to look back. I didn't want to look back, in case Frost had followed. Pretty soon, I was losing most of my stamina, so I slowed down, eventually slowing to a walk. We exited the forest and came upon a small village. In a way, it resembled mine, but it was slightly different.

"Hadoken, go hunt," I instructed. The black wolf dog sniffed the air and then ran off, back into the foliage. I looked out, trying to get a grip on my bearings. I found nothing peculiar about this village, so I proceeded to enter it. After exploring for a little while, I determined that it would be a nice place to stay until I could figure out my plan for revenge on Mavado.

I heard yelling coming from a small little hut, and upon entering I saw a blonde woman throwing fire balls at a ninja garbed in yellow. I immediately backtracked and found a deserted hut where I would be able to stay for the rest of the day and the rest of the night.

The rest of my day was spent rationing what Hadoken brought back. He brought back two deer and a bird, and to stop him from eating it all at one time, I hid some of it away. I didn't understand how or why this wolf was tame, but whatever the reason was, I was sticking to it. I didn't really exit the hut much, as I was still feeling ashamed and dejected.

That night, I lay down on the wooden floor (yes, these huts had wooden floors, believe it or not) and tried to relax. Hadoken curled up next to me, snuffing once before falling into a deep, wolfish sleep. His fur was warm and soon enough it had lulled me to sleep. I didn't remember whatever dream I had, which disappointed me slightly.

I awoke to the sound of footsteps, but I kept my eyes closed. I heard two voices; they both sounded familiar. Hadoken growled next to me, barking at both of the intruders. I opened my eyes and sat up, brandishing my ice staff. I knocked both figures out of the hut and walked out, resting my staff on my shoulder. In the pale moonlight of the night, I could see that it was Kenshi and Sub-Zero.

"Kenshi? Subs?" I asked in surprise. Sub-Zero did not approve of the name I had given him, apparently. It was obvious by the ice ball that came flying in my direction a few seconds later. Kenshi looked at me curiously, as I hit my staff against the ground three times. Hadoken trotted out and sat next to me, his black fur blending in well with the shadows of the night.

"What happened to you?" Kenshi questioned, approaching me. Hadoken growled but I called him down, letting Kenshi do what he may, whatever that was. He reached for my hand, holding it for a moment. This was a prime example of Kenshi's other means of sight. Sometimes, I wondered what it was like to be in Kenshi's position. "Were you in a fight or something?" he finally asked, letting go of my hand. He touched my arm; his fingertips lingered for a moment. "Luci?"

"With Tasia," I responded vaguely.

"Of the Black Dragon clan?" Subs questioned, walking up to join Kenshi and me.

"Yes, why do you ask?" I replied curiously, sensing something in his tone of voice.

"She isn't a part of the Black Dragon clan anymore," Kenshi replied. "I defeated her in battle, so Kano abandoned her. Last we heard, she joined up with Mavado. Did you kill her?" Kenshi's brow was furrowed, and I must've looked shocked. I gritted my teeth together, remembering the fact that I had not defeated her. She had gotten away – but at least Kenshi was here now, this way I could warn him. "Luci?"

"She told me she would come after you and kill you," I explained, raising an eyebrow. "That would explain why she tried to kill me, just for being one of your allies…. Sorry about the hand, by the way. I was trying to get you to let Hadoken go… Anyway, keep an eye out for Tasia." I folded my arms across my chest, looking down at the snowy ground.

"It's fine," Kenshi replied, referring the dagger-in-the-hand from earlier. He pulled out that very same ice dagger and opened my hand. Kenshi put the hilt against my palm, and then closed my fingers around it. "You may need it. Or you may want to keep it. You have decent aim, you know." I nodded and sheathed it. "And I'll keep an eye out for Tasia."

Suddenly we heard a scream come from one of the villagers. I looked past Kenshi and squinted, as Sub-Zero came to stand next to me and Kenshi turned around. At first, we couldn't see anything, but soon we saw smoke and flames licking the starlit sky. And then it hit me, so I yelled, "Mavado! It's Mavado!" Kenshi looked thoughtful for a moment, and then he nodded his agreement. Sub-Zero looked out in front of him, his blue eyes narrowing slightly.

Right on cue, Mavado appeared out of the smoke and fire. Kenshi and I both tensed, as Sub-Zero prepared for a fight. I unsheathed the ice dagger and held my ice staff defensively. Hadoken snarled, his fur prickling at the thought of a fight. Bloodlust was the only thing that could be felt in the air at that moment, as Kenshi, Sub-Zero and I glared at Mavado.

"Ready to fight?" Mavado asked tauntingly. He brandished his weapon as the smoke and flames rose higher, and engulfed more.

I would not let this village be destroyed like my village was destroyed.

**

* * *

**

Whaddaya think? Tell me in reviews!


	4. Justice Is a Lesson Learned the Hard Way

**Thanks to everyone so far! **

**Title of Chapter: Justice Is a Lesson Learned the Hard Way **  
**Disclaimer: I own nothing except for Lucipher and Hadoken! **  
**Warning: Of course, some blood, mild violence, and some sadness at the end. **

* * *

Mavado brandished his hook swords as the fire burned brighter and higher. I wondered why he was alone, but my I was soon proven wrong, as Hsu Hao and Daegon appeared next to him. I glared at them, giving Kenshi a sideways glance. He had his ancestral sword ready, and Sub-Zero had the kori blade in hand. It seemed like an eternity as we stood there; flames burned brightly, casting eerie shadows, and Mavado's eyes held a malicious spark, giving way to his intentions.

I don't know how it started; I can't remember. It just _happened_ and the blood began to spatter. I was fighting Hsu Hao, which was rather hard. He slashed at me with his sun-moon blades, but I dodged. I spun and shoved my staff into his shoulder. He skidded backwards a few feet and jumped forward, slashing at me once more. This time it hit, but it was only my arm. The wound immediately started to freeze over, so I just smirked. Hao looked at me incredulously before jumping up.

He spun and kicked me back, and I landed hard. Next thing I knew, the sun-moon blade was coming towards me. I blocked with my staff; Hao bent down and our faces were inches apart, so close that I could see the green tint of his puke green skin. I brought up my knee, fast and hard, hitting him square in the chin. He flipped over from the impact, and I scrambled to my feet. I spun my staff and waited for him to do something, but he didn't. He did the same as I did, except he held his blades up defensively.

I lurched forward, but he started to move out of the way. I held out my hand, shooting out an icy blast. It froze his left side, and I landed on the ground. Scrambling up before the heat of the fire could melt the ice; I ran towards him and summoned my ice daggers at the same time. I plunged my dagger into his right shoulder, and then the other dagger into his stomach. He glared at me as blood trickled over my hands. I smirked lightly and ripped out both daggers, as he grunted in pain.

My booted foot shattered the ice as I fired a quick kick to his left side. He immediately lunged at me with the sun-moon blades. The first one connected with my left shoulder and the second with my thigh. I cried out in pain, but I took my dagger and stabbed him just above his collar bone. He in turn dug the blade deeper into my shoulder. I shoved my other dagger into the top of his shoulder. We pretty much bled all over each other, but my wounds were starting to freeze over and heal, unlike his. The only thing stopping me from healing was the simple fact that the blades were still jammed into the wounds.

I let go of my daggers and with my good leg, I kicked him backwards. He fell to the ground and pulled out the daggers, as I yanked out the blades that were lodged in my thigh and left shoulder. My pants were stained red from all of the blood. Hsu Hao and I lunged at each other, both throwing a few good punches. We were both getting tired and we were both sorely injured; there was only so much my freezing abilities could heal. I pulled out my water sword as he held up his bloodied blade again.

We sparred for a moment, pushing each other back and forth. Hao kicked me backwards and I fell to the ground, and my blade flew out of my hand; next thing I saw was the sun-moon blade that plunged into the ground next to my head. I looked on in horror as he approached me, a sadistic smirk on his lips. He held up his other sun-moon blade, and a flash back hit me square in the face.

_**Flashback**_

_As soon as he pulled it out, Luci looked up, suddenly delivering a kick to his temple. He stumbled backwards, but he shook his head to clear his mind. Sub-Zero still had both daggers in hand. He jumped forward but missed, as she ducked away from him. He tossed one at her like a shuriken, but she avoided it. There was blood dripping down her back and the wound was taking longer to freeze over than the first wound. She summoned another staff, lurching. forward. She jumped up and started towards him. Just as she was coming down to earth, he grabbed his kori blade and thrust it forward._

_It snapped the staff in half and caught her in the stomach. Luci froze in her spot and gripped the kori blade with all her might. He was holding the blade in the air so she wasn't even touching the ground, causing even more pain. However, the wound began to freeze over, with the blade still intact. Regret flickered in his eyes for a moment and he let the blade fall. _

_**End of Flashback**_

It reminded me of that fight; that day; that time in my life. It occurred five years prior to this day, and now, I was about to meet my maker. "No!" I yelled, the anger flaring up. I also remembered how I felt after that fight. I had lost, and I had felt like I had disgraced my master; my very own teacher; the Grandmaster of my very own clan, the Lin Kuei… And now, that I was so close to death, I felt the same way. I felt that if I died like this, I would be disgraced. "No!" I shouted again, kicking Hao in the chest.

He was taken aback by my sudden flare of anger and determination. I got my feet and summoned two new ice daggers, and then I lurched forward, plunging one into Hsu Hao's chest. I held the second at his throat, and before I could hesitate, I moved it down to his chest and stabbed him in his chest, yet again. I wasn't one for killing, as I've said before, but he was trying to kill me. He clasped his hands over the blade and staggered backwards, blood running across his green skin.

Hsu Hao fell to the ground, and died a few moments after that. I pulled out my ice daggers and felt the tidal wave of guilt wash over me. I looked away and searched the smoking village for Kenshi or Sub-Zero. At this moment, all traces of my fury towards my former master were gone; we were comrades, fighting for the same goal. We were fighting to stop Mavado from taking any more innocent lives.

Hadoken ran to me and nipped at my boots. I nodded once and ran after my retreating black wolf dog. He led me through the streets of the village, until we came across a very battered and bruised Daegon and Sub-Zero. It looked like the latter was winning, and his blue eyes shifted to me for a moment. My dark blue eyes met his, and time seemed to stop for just that moment. It seemed like it moved in slow motion, as we both looked away. Then everything went back to regular speed and I could practically feel the blood pulsing through my veins. Sub-Zero dodged one of Daegon's attacks and whirled around, leaving an opening for me.

I jumped forward and shot an ice ball at the member of the Red Dragon clan, but he avoided it. Realizing that he was being outnumbered by two Cryomancers, he backed away, eyeing us both angrily. We ran towards him, but he took a few steps out of the way and disappeared into the shadows. I looked to my former mentor for advice, but he just shook his head. "Daegon will be defeated eventually," Sub-Zero responded, wisely. A thought crossed my mind: I could get revenge on him _now_.

But I left my returning hatred be, and together we searched the burning village for Kenshi.

Hadoken sniffed the smoky air and started down the path, so we followed him. As we ran I looked at each of the burning huts, remembering the day that Mavado had come to destroy my village. Those poor, innocent people, killed by Mavado because of Shang Tsung. I shook my head as we rounded a corner, only to find Kenshi fighting Mavado. Sub-Zero held me back; it was a bloody fight but Kenshi was winning. Hadoken sat obediently at my side as we looked on.

Kenshi needed to do this one on his own.

As the battle progressed, Sub-Zero and I took to making sure Daegon wasn't around. Kenshi had a tight hold on Mavado, and if he could defeat him now, retribution would his. Kenshi needed it more than I do, I'll admit. I walked past a burning hut, and checked inside. This one was empty as well, and I quickly doused the flames with a little bit of water. Suddenly I heard a scream, which sounded like a battle cry. I ran back to the scene of the fight, only to find Tasia standing behind Kenshi.

I pulled out my ice staff and spun it like it fan, throwing it at her. She turned around and it smacked her into an empty hut. I held out my hand as my staff returned to me. Mavado realized that he would probably be outnumbered, even with Tasia's help. He stepped back and then dodged one of Kenshi's attacks. He struck a final blow to the blind swordsman, but it wasn't a killing blow. With that, the member of the Red Dragon clan took off, followed by his wimpy little assistant, Tasia.

I still couldn't really believe that she had joined the Red Dragon, but oh well.

I shrugged to myself as I ran over to Kenshi. "Where is Hsu Hao?" he asked me immediately. I told him about the death of Hsu Hao, and he just nodded. "Let's clean up this mess first; we can get Hsu's body afterward." I nodded as another pang of guilt hit me. Together, Kenshi and I walked among the ruins. I doused flames here and there, looking at frightened people during the aftermath. A lot of the surviving villagers, no, all of the surviving villagers followed us as we worked.

The women cried as my blind companion discovered charred bodies. It was not a sight I wanted to see, so I stuck to my work of dousing all of the flames. I couldn't help but feel bad for them; I talked while I worked, telling the villagers of how my own village was destroyed, and that I would get Mavado not only for them, but for my village and Kenshi as well. He listened to my stories in a soft silence, keeping himself busy as not to go insane with anger. Even Kenshi had a boiling point.

How could these poor innocent people suffer like this? I shook my head and sighed shakily. This was a bitter winter night for all of us. I stopped dousing the flames for a moment and walked away. I came across Hsu Hao's body. He was heavy, but I managed, and I took him back to Kenshi. "I feel bad," I admitted. Kenshi touched my face to get a better idea of how I was feeling. He sighed and brushed my white hair out of my dark blue eyes.

"You shouldn't feel too guilty," he responded, going back to his work.

"But I do," I shot back, returning to my work.

"Why? Explain, please," Kenshi prompted.

"Well, I'm not one for killing people. Hsu Hao was a living being just like us," I replied.

"Ah, I see," he replied softly. I didn't exactly understand why his voice had gone soft and why it had taken on a melancholy tone. I walked over to him and gasped, cupping my hands over my mouth. The body Kenshi had found was of a child. "Mavado has destroyed too many innocent lives." I nodded and turned back around. This was hard for me; I wasn't weak or anything, but children were something completely different. "Keep a watchful eye on the rest of the children," Kenshi advised.

"I will," I replied. There was nothing more I could say. The parents of this child were probably in the crowd. Poor souls… "Kenshi," I whined. He looked up at me, eyebrows arching. "Why must people die? This child was innocent and now the poor thing is dead. He had a full life ahead of him. It's not fair."

"Life isn't fair," Kenshi responded.

"I know," I mumbled. "But… Why must the good die young?"

"Because, they are setting an example for the rest of us. They have died in the name of justice."

"How do you classify Mavado's actions as justice?" I snapped.

"I do not classify Mavado's actions as justice. This dead child has died so that we may be fueled. Fueled to bring justice to the dead people of this village, to the living people of this village, and it goes in the same direction for the people of your village," Kenshi explained. "Mavado's actions aren't even close to justice. But now that this child has died, we have a new outlook on life, and justice itself. In essence, Luci, this child died; he was a part of our common goal."

"Common goal? What would that be, Kenshi?" I asked, a silent tear sliding down my cheek.

"Our common goal is to bring justice to all those Mavado has killed and hurt," Kenshi responded, pressing his thumb against my cheek to wipe away my single tear. "So do not cry for him; he is in a better place. And we will defeat Mavado, to bring _justice _to all of these people." I liked taking my problems to Kenshi because he always knew what to say. I could really learn something from him…

**

* * *

**

Whaddaya think? Please review!


	5. Short Term Long Term Memory Loss

**Thanks to everyone so far! **

**Title of Chapter: Short-Term Long-Term Memory Loss  
Disclaimer: I own nothing except for Lucipher and Hadoken!  
Warning: Meh...just some very, very, very mild language. And when I say very, I mean _very _mild language. **

_**

* * *

**_

Next Day

We were still cleaning up the village, but I didn't want any part of it. I was tired of all of the trouble Mavado had caused, so I stuck to my job of watching the children. However, most children were quite afraid of me, because I didn't know how to talk to them, nor did I know how to play with them. A few were afraid of my weapons, but with the weapons came my authority over them. Truth be told, I enjoyed being able to boss them around, even if they were kids.

For the most part, I just had them keep together in a group; Hadoken did the herding. They were his sheep, so to speak. The sun shifted lazily into the sky, only to be overrun by numerous gray clouds. More snow fell, covering up the black ashes from the fire. We had buried Hsu Hao on a hill near the village; that was over and done, so we spoke no more of the matter. I was proud that I had defeated him, but my win-loss ratio for major battles was 1 to 2. I had won the battle over Hsu Hao, but I had lost to Sub-Zero five years prior, and I had lost to Tasia.

Kenshi took a break to make sure that all of the little ones were accounted for, and they ran over to him immediately. Hadoken followed after them, and I felt a little jealous. They climbed all over my blind companion, while my black wolf dog barked, his tail wagging furiously. I rolled my eyes and sat down on the ground, holding snow in my hands. After a while, I found it rather hard to focus on _anything_. "Kenshi," I called, voice husky for a moment. He looked in my direction and quirked his eyebrows.

Before I could respond, little kids tackled him and made it near impossible for him to answer. I sighed in disgust; not because of the children, but because of the fact that I needed to call Subs. "Yo Sub-Zero!" I called out to my former master, only receiving a grunt as a reply. Obviously he wasn't in the mood to answer my questions. I stood up and walked over to him, putting a cold hand on his shoulder. He stood up full height, so I was forced to step back. Why the hell was I this short?

"Yes?" Sub-Zero replied, a hint of impatience to his voice. Wasn't patience something he had mastered? Eh, forget it.

"Are we about finished here? I'd like to get a move on," I replied, gesturing with my gloved hands. Sub-Zero caught my wrist mid-air and held a tight grip.

"Patience is a virtue," he responded, clenching my wrist tighter. I glared back at him – does it look like I have patience? "When we're ready to leave, you'll know." I hated this! Sub-Zero was treating me like a little kid! I glared at him harder, but it was returned with a tighter grip on my wrist. "Go do your job." He let go of my wrist and I immediately jerked it back. I put my hand out and an ice dagger appeared, but I turned around and walked away.

However, I turned around and walked back towards him.

The kori blade came out, which was too powerful against my daggers. I tossed them to the side and summoned my water sword. The water sword is not as powerful as the kori blade, but it was the most powerful weapon I had. I don't think I planned on _killing _Sub-Zero, but at that moment it didn't matter. I wondered what Subs would do if he beat me, though. Would he kill me? Or spare me? Either way, we both sparred for a moment, before he pulled back and slashed at my legs.

I jumped back, holding up the blade defensively. After a moment of hesitation, I lunged forward, slashing with the sword. He avoided the attack and swung with the kori blade; I ducked out of the way and did a leg sweep-like move, knocking him to the ground. I pulled the water from the sword, forming the water cobra. With the sword, I brought it down but he blocked it with the kori blade and it shattered. I stuck out my hand and the water cobra curled its way up his arm.

Sub-Zero froze it with his free hand and shattered it. I turned around and ran away, coming to a halt a few good yards away. My former master was already on his feet, and he sent a ball of ice my way. I ducked out of the way, hitting the ground. I summoned my ice staff and got to my feet, waiting for him to attack. Of course, he didn't. We circled each other for a moment; I failed to realize that the snow had stopped falling. I was terrified out of my mind, believe you me.

"You only _act _strong," Sub-Zero said harshly. "You dare attack someone and then run away from the fight." I glared at him and spun my staff, still afraid. I didn't want to die; running made me look like a coward. However, life sounded a lot more appealing than death did at the moment, so I turned around and ran towards the forest. A carefully aimed ice ball hit the ground in front of me, and so made it slippery. I slipped and fell – who said I was graceful?

I struggled to get to my feet, as I felt a few pricks of water on my face. I looked up at the gray sky; it was becoming a darker shade of gray, as well. It began to rain, to my great surprise. The villagers called their children into the huts, and so Kenshi walked back over to me. "It's raining; maybe we should get a move on," he suggested, as Sub-Zero put away his blade. I nodded my agreement, scurrying off so that Subs wouldn't get any more annoyed with me. I honestly didn't feel like getting in trouble for mouthing off.

_**That Evening **_

Much to my surprise, we came upon a large house. We had abandoned the snowy land of Arctika earlier in the day; now we were in a large field with high grass and what appeared to be grapes. It was still raining; the sky was still a dark gray. "This is where we will stay for the night," Sub-Zero explained, starting up towards the house. Kenshi didn't hesitate to follow, so of course I followed, too.

Sub-Zero stood on the steps as Kenshi went up and knocked. A blonde woman opened the door, a slight smile spreading across her face. She was a very pretty woman, with shoulder length blonde hair and experienced eyes. I couldn't quite place who she was for some reason; it seemed as if my Mortal Kombat knowledge was escaping me!

"So you've finally arrived," she said with a slight smirk. "Who's this?" She gestured to me.

"Sonya, this is Luci," Kenshi introduced me to this "Sonya" person. I face palmed as I remembered who she was – Sonya Blade!

"I guess Li Mei will finally have a roommate," Sonya responded. I could clearly remember who Li Mei was, however.

Sonya showed me to my room; we did not talk. I could tell she was trying to be friendly, but there was nothing to speak of. I did not know her – she did not know me. I thanked her as I opened the door to my room. A girl dressed in a purple outfit was sprawled out on one of two beds in the room. She was lying there, half asleep. I didn't know what to say to get her attention, so instead I summoned my staff and I smacked the floor with it. Li Mei jumped up and into a fighting position.

"Who are you and what are you doing in my room?" she demanded incredulously, moving for her weapons.

"I'm not here to fight," I responded indignantly. "Sonya told me this is my room for the night." Li Mei rolled her eyes and threw her weapons aside, flopping down on the bed. She eyed me, giving me the once over.

"So what, are you Lin Kuei? You look Lin Kuei," she finally commented. "With the hair and the outfit; you should wear more pink if you're not part of the Lin Kuei."

"Yes indeed, I'm Lin Kuei," I responded, putting away my ice staff. I stood awkwardly near the door. Making friends was not my biggest or best forte. "I'd prefer to stick to the traditional Lin Kuei colors." Li Mei shrugged and nodded.

"Whatever, s'you're choice," she responded. "Call me when dinner's ready, snowflake." Did she just call me snowflake? With that, she lay back down and drifted off to sleep. I rolled my eyes and walked back out of the room, heading downstairs. I wanted to talk to Kenshi about my little episode, about forgetting who Sonya Blade was. He was in the dining room with Sonya, and the two were discussing something. I walked right in and approached them. Sonya glanced at me and quieted down, backing away a little bit.

"Kenshi when you're finished, meet me on the balcony," I instructed, looking over at Sonya. For some reason, I didn't like her. The blind swordsman nodded once and then turned back to the blonde woman as I left. At this point, I had no idea where I was supposed to go. So, in the midst of not knowing, I wandered around the house. As I walked by, most of the inhabitants didn't even see me. It helped a lot when I kept to the shadowy parts of the house, I suppose.

I decided to make my way to the balcony to wait, so I did just that. However, when I reached the balcony Kenshi was already there, waiting for me. "Oh! Kenshi!" I exclaimed in surprise. "I didn't think you'd be out here before me." The blind swordsman shrugged and nodded; he gestured to the stool next to him. I walked over to it and sat down, making myself comfortable.

"What did you need?" Kenshi queried, taking a seat on the other stool. I stared at him for a moment, before remembering what I had wanted.

"Right… Well, you know the story of how Luna and I came to this world, right?" I asked. Kenshi nodded. "Well, being the case that it is, I recognize most people fairly quickly, would you agree?" He nodded simply. "Today, I didn't recognize Sonya. Nor did I recognize Tasia. Why is that?" I waited impatiently for his answer. Kenshi looked thoughtful for a moment, before sighing heavily.

"I do not know," he finally replied. I face palmed in frustration. "Well," he mused slowly, "maybe you could ask Sub-Zero. Wouldn't he be able to help you?" I grimaced.

"Why would Subs wanna help me?" I replied indignantly. Kenshi shook his head at my comment – I think even he was tired of my anger towards my former master.

"Just ask in a calm yet dignified manner," he advised. I rolled my eyes and stood up, walking away from Kenshi. I stormed through the living room and towards the stairs, leaving a cold trail of ice behind me. I must've had angry-sounding footsteps, because Li Mei appeared, eyes curious.

"What's gotten into you, oh annoyed one?" she asked, putting her hands on her hips and cocking her head to the side. I glared at her and she glared back. I raised my hand; she moved hers to the hilt of her weapon. And then it happened. I fired a ball of ice at her, but she deflected it with her weapon. I summoned my ice staff and lurched forward – we sparred. She pushed me back and jumped forward, landing on my stomach. I kicked her off and scrambled to my feet.

We lunged at one another, but two very angry voices stopped us, dead in our tracks. "Li Mei!" and "Lucipher!" were shouted out at the same time.

"Oh crap!" Li Mei said, voice cracking as her eyes grew wide.

"Damn, I'm busted – is more like it!" I added, gulping once. Standing before us were none other than Sub-Zero and Sonya. The blonde looked annoyed, but just by looking into Subs' eyes – I could tell that he was far beyond angry.

"Li Mei, what did we tell you about picking fights with other members of the house?" Sonya asked, arms folded across her chest. The woman in the purple sighed in frustration.

"Don't move," Sub-Zero advised, eyes narrowing. I suppose I deserved punishment for breaking a rule, but that didn't mean I wanted that punishment. I should've kept my mouth shut, but I couldn't resist.

"You're not my teacher anymore, Sub-Zero!" I snapped. Li Mei stared at me as Sonya quirked her eyebrows, also inclining her head to the side.

"I may not be your teacher," Subs began, "but you are a part of the Lin Kuei – and I am the Grandmaster. This means that I am still your master, and you must come to realize this." I glared, but I shrank back down. Sub-Zero continued, "You should have a little more respect." I just glared, as the anger bubbled up, taking residence in my chest. It sat there, daring me to object. I wasn't able to keep a lid on it, apparently.

"I don't have to answer to you," I muttered under my breath, but it was just loud enough so that Sub-Zero could hear it. Li Mei looked at me like I was crazy. Before I knew what had happened, the blue-garbed ninja was right in front of me. His gaze was piercing, and with a cold, icy hand, he pushed me down. I was now on one knee as I looked up at him.

"Would you like to say that again, or would you rather shut your mouth and address me as Grandmaster?" Sub-Zero asked. His blue eyes were hard.

Li Mei nudged me when I didn't answer him – she looked a little nervous herself – so I spoke up, "Yes, _Grandmaster_." Li Mei nudged me once more, and by this point I was seriously annoyed. "I…apologize," I added, through clenched teeth.

"Very well then," Sub-Zero – or _Grandmaster _– replied. He turned around and walked back into the dining room. Sonya, deciding Li Mei had been punished enough, followed suit. I stood up, prepared to go after both of them. Li Mei's hand shot up and she grabbed my wrist, pulling me backwards.

"You wanna get us both killed?" she asked, looking me in the eye. I sighed in frustration. "We can get back at 'em later!" I raised my eyebrows in skepticism. "Trust me." She stuck out her hand, so I eyed it suspiciously. Finally, I took her hand and shook it.

Maybe now, I could get my revenge on Sub-Zero.

_**Later That Evening **_

"Dinner's ready!" Sonya called. Li Mei and I were in our room, contemplating ways to get back at Subs and Sonya. We both stood up and walked to the door, opening it swiftly. We saw a stampede of other house guests running down the hallway and running down the stairs. We waited rather impatiently, and then we headed to the dining room. There were two places left at the table – one by Subs, and one by Sonya. I grimaced as Sub-Zero – I mean, Grandmaster – gestured for me to sit next to him.

So, that is where I sat. Li Mei and I traded glances as she sat down next to Sonya, and I pulled out my chair, sitting down angrily next to Sub-master-Zero. This is when I noticed just how full this house was – there were numerous house guests. What scared me, however, was that I wasn't able to recognize them. I looked at each face and none registered in my mind. I was too busy having an inward panic attack to notice that Sub-Zero was staring at me. Kenshi was on my right side, so he nudged me.

"_What_?" I half-shouted, looking over at him. The talking stopped and everyone stared at me. My face flushed red and I turned to Kenshi and said in a more civil manner, "What is it?" Kenshi nodded towards Sub-Zero, so I grimaced again and turned back to him. "Yes Sub – I mean Grandmaster?" He shook his head, suggesting that there was nothing he wanted or needed from me at that moment. I nodded and turned back to the table, looking down in embarrassment.

That was certainly one way to start off a meal.

When the food was set in front of us, we all started to eat. I picked up my fork and was about to start when all of a sudden my fork was frozen. I looked at the wall in exhausted annoyance before looking at the Cryomancer next to me. "Yes, Grandmaster?" I asked, rather snappishly.

"Wait," he said simply.

"Are you kidding me?" I asked under my breath, but Sub-Zero heard me. "I have to _wait _for you to start before I can? You call this freaking justice? I got into a fight with Li Mei and _this _is what happens? How is this fair at all?" I finished my rant – he waited patiently through the whole thing.

"It was Kenshi's idea," Sub-Zero replied with a shrug. I could tell he was smirking beneath his mask; I narrowed my eyes and my knuckles turned white as I squeezed the fork. It shattered, due to the fact that it was still frozen. I was about ready to pick up my other fork and stab Sub-Zero in his icy ass, but I decided against it. I turned to Kenshi, giving him the we'll-talk-about-this-later look. "And, _you _have been picking fights with me since we got here, which is disrespectful. Now, before you embarrass yourself and me anymore than you already have, I suggest you be quiet."

I stared at him as a quiet silence engulfed the dining room. I couldn't say he was wrong, but I couldn't say he was right, either. I gritted my teeth together in fury, sitting on my hands so that I wouldn't try to attack him. Satisfied with my actions, he and the others began eating. I started a few seconds later, chewing slowly. I was pretty angry, but what was I gonna do? I was already in enough trouble with Subs, so I couldn't really do anything. I suppose what he was doing made sense, but it didn't mean I liked it, nor did it mean I would take it.

When dinner was finished Li Mei excused herself, and slowly, one by one, everyone got up and exited, heading to the living room. I got up to go, ignoring Sub-Zero. When I pushed open the dining room doors, I found everyone gathered in the living room. The purple garbed Li Mei motioned for me to join her on the couch. I walked over and sat down next to her. Sonya glanced at me and then said, "Everyone, this is Sub-Zero's former apprentice, Luci." Like I wanted _that _title attached to my name!

After that I sat and listened to the conversation for the most part. They tried to get me into the conversation, but I didn't offer too much. After a while, I excused myself, trotting back up the stairs. The door to my room opened easily, and I walked in, flopping down on the bed in exhaustion. I closed my eyes and tried to relax, so that I could drift off to sleep. I felt something climb up on the bed, and opening one of my eyes, I realized that it was Hadoken. I sighed and got under the covers, managing to fall asleep with my black wolf dog curled up next to me.

**

* * *

**

What do you think? Tell me in reviews, please!


	6. Sliding On Thin Ice

**Thanks to everyone who has read, reviewed, faved and alerted so far! **

**Title of Chapter: Sliding On Thin Ice  
Disclaimer: I own nothing except for Lucipher and Hadoken!  
Warning: Not much here. This chapter was a filler, except for the end. **

**Enjoy! **

_**

* * *

**_

Next Day: 12:00 P.M.

"No, no, no, _no_!" I shouted, running downstairs. Li Mei, Jade, Kitana, and Sareena were running after me, trying to turn me into a dress up doll. I would have no such thing. "I refuse to wear more revealing clothing!" I shouted over my shoulder, as my legs ached in pain. You try avoiding four trained female warriors, and then tell me if you don't feel any type of pain afterward. I bolted through the dining room, past Kenshi, past Sonya, and past most everyone else.

I hit the stairs again, taking them two at a time, legs screaming in pain. I hadn't had a workout like this in who knows how long! My boots hit the carpet with a thud, and fear kept me going. Every door was locked, so I couldn't go in and hide. I was too far away from my room, and plus Li Mei would probably find a way to get in there. I could hear them yelling behind me, and I rounded a corner and stopped, putting my hands on my knees as I tried to catch my breath. It hitched in my chest and I coughed once.

Looking up and around, I could find no plausible escape route. My eyes grazed across the wall and I spotted a ventilation shaft just down the hall. It was rather large and seemingly conveniently placed. I ran down the hall at a rather slow jog, and by freezing the panel and kicking it, it shattered and I was able to get in. Now usually, a vent shaft would be small and cramped. But this one had freaking _stairs _but I guess that's what happens when you're a house guest with Sonya.

I bolted up the makeshift stairs, cringing every time my footsteps echoed against the metal. I reached a larger, hallway-type shaft, and I walked slowly through it, marveling at the length and size. It kind of freaked me out, so I was pleased whenever I passed a grate that was positioned like a window on the sides. Continuing my journey, I realized that I was jittery. It was pretty dark when the windows weren't visible, so I was a little freaked out. Or a lot freaked out, but you get my point.

Foolishly, I did not look down and I stepped on a very unstable grate. It came out from underneath me and I fell. I heard and "oof" and a body thud against the floor. I was sitting on some type of armor; it was blue and there was seemingly a fur rim around the edge of the hood. A low grunt/growl made me look down, and I spotted the trident first…and so I moved my eyes down just a tiny bit further to see the brilliant, blue glaring eyes of Sub-Zero. I laughed nervously.

Apparently, I was sitting on Sub-Zero's chest.

The grate was dangling above our heads, but it crashed to the floor next to us. I blushed as Sub-Zero folded his arms, although it was a little difficult due to me being on top of him. My hands were awkwardly positioned on his shoulders, as well. "Uhh…" I stammered, feeling the cold intensify in the room. That indeed was not my doing. I snapped my fingers, hoping to teleport, but unfortunately, I had lost that power long ago. I could not make it snow harder, nor could I teleport. Those powers now eluded my grasp.

"You're still sitting there," Sub-Zero said, voice icy. I nodded awkwardly, as he started to sit up. I jumped off of his chest and stumbled halfway down the hallway, tumbling into the wall. My jelly-like legs gave way underneath me and I fell to the floor, looking over my shoulder as I tried to catch my breath. All this running from those four warrior-women was getting to me. The Grandmaster of the Lin Kuei clan stood up, dusted himself off, and tossed the grate upwards. It clicked right back into place.

He approached me and towered over me. I shrank back out of reflexive habit, and he said, "Stand up." I glared up at him, but I grabbed onto his clothing and hauled myself to my feet. I put my hand on the wall for support and let go of his clothing, looking around nervously. "What were you doing in the ventilation shaft?"

"Running from the lunatic women in this house!" I shot back, shaking my head to try and clear away my headache. "They wanna see what I look like in their type of clothing." Sub-Zero nodded and an awkward silence followed. I started to walk away, but strong arms wrapped around my waist, trapping my arms at my sides. "Sub-Zero!" I shouted in fury as he lifted me up off the ground.

"Ah ah, that's Grandmaster," he reminded me, turning around and carrying me towards the living room. I couldn't see his face but I knew he must've been smirking under that mask. I couldn't believe my luck. I managed to free my left hand, but it didn't do much good. I sighed in frustration as I was swiftly carried downstairs.

We eventually reached the living room, where Sareena and the others were gathered. They all grinned when they saw me, and so Sareena spoke up, "Thanks Sub-Zero." He nodded and set me down on the couch, and before I could scramble away, Li Mei, Jade, and Kitana converged on me. Sareena smiled deviously and turned back to me as Sub-Zero smirked underneath his mask. I couldn't see said smirk, but I knew it was there. He turned around and walked away, satisfied with his work.

The four women made me try on a lot of different outfits, until they finally found one that they all agreed on. Which unfortunately for me was a blue halter top with my usual black pants and boots. I heard myself grinding my teeth together, trying to avoid looking in the mirror. "Can I just have my regular outfit back?" I asked, sounding desperate.

"We're not done!" Li Mei replied, as the other three women shook their heads. "Oh, wait!" She walked over to me and forced my hair into a ponytail. I glared at the four of them as they admired their work. "See, now you look better." I rolled my eyes, waiting for them to finish. "Should we show our work off?" That was the last thing I wanted.

"Yeah," Jade agreed. "It took us forever to get that look to work on her!" That made me feel amazing, Jade, I thought to myself. I was about to say this out loud, but I was silenced by Kitana, who took me by the wrist and made me stand on the coffee table. "She looks like a totally different person."

"Really? OK guys, can I have my outfit back?" I asked, folding my hands.

"No!" they all said in unison. I sighed angrily – this was going to be a very long night.

_**Later That Evening **_

I had managed to escape the clutches of the female terrors a few hours prior, and I was currently hiding under the covers of my bed. I was half-asleep when I realized that Sonya had called for dinner a few moments ago. By this point, Li Mei had stopped trying to drag me out of my bed, and Hadoken had abandoned all hope of me accompanying him to dinner – he had gone down to the dining room alone.

There was a knock at the door and I lifted up my head. "Who is it?" I called out warily, poking my head out from under the covers. The voice that I heard on the other end was that of a male, and it sounded like Kenshi. "It's unlocked!" And Kenshi walked in as I pulled the covers up to my chin, sliding down further in the bed. My boots had been discarded in the closet nearby. "What do you want?"

"I found these stashed under the couch cushions," Kenshi responded, tossing some blue colored garments onto the bed. It was my t-shirt and my blue Lin Kuei vest. I gave Kenshi a grateful glance and he exited the room, shutting the door behind him. I quickly ditched the halter top and put on the black t-shirt first, and then I added the vest overtop of it. It felt nice to be in my own clothing again. My black pants were still firmly in place; thankfully they had alternated tops more than pants.

After pulling on my boots I opened the door again, to see that Kenshi was gone. I shrugged and stepped back into my room, slamming the door shut. Li Mei would complain and nag my ear off if she saw me back in my regular attire. I jumped back onto my bed and conjured a ball of ice, playing with it in a state of boredom.

Another knock at my door startled me back into reality, so I stood up and opened the door slightly. Surprisingly, it was Sub-Zero. I tried to slam it closed, but he stuck his foot in the door and managed to get the door open in about two and a half seconds. I held up my hands in surrender, unwilling to fight him. Instead of attacking me or verbally assaulting me, his hand clamped around my wrist and he pulled me out of the room.

I was pulled to a stop outside of the dining room – the large doors were closed tightly. An icy cold hand brushed across my hair and before I could cringe it was falling around my shoulders. I turned to see Sub-Zero tossing aside Li Mei's ponytail holder. I suppose I looked grateful, because he just nodded once.

"Are you going to join us for dinner, or does Li Mei really scare you that much?" Sub-Zero asked, slightly amused.

"She doesn't scare me," I mumbled, but it was probably a lie. In a sense, she kinda freaked me out. Sub-Zero pushed open the doors and let me enter first, and I was surprised to see Raiden seated at the table. "Raiden…?" I asked in surprise, as Sub-Zero led me to our seats. I glanced at the Grandmaster as he sat down, so I followed suit.

"I've just dropped in to pay Sub-Zero a visit," Raiden responded, waving a hand at my comment. I didn't know him very well, nor did he know me. He knew Luna; he did not know me. But it didn't matter anyway; he was here for Sub-Zero. Sonya set the food down on the table and so we began eating, just like our usual routine. Li Mei kept nudging me in the side, a little annoyed that I had changed out of the outfit and into my regular Lin Kuei attire. I nudged her back and we glared at one another for the rest of dinner.

After dinner, we mingled around for a bit, before the activities of the day took their toll on me. I wandered aimlessly upstairs, but I heard low voices coming from one of the rooms. I tip-toed to the door and listened in on the conversation. "You cannot mention any of this to her, Sub-Zero," Raiden said in a firm tone of voice.

"Why would I mention it?" Sub-Zero responded. "I don't have any need to, nor do I see a reason to."

"Good then. I'm glad that we're on the same page here," Raiden replied. Before I could jump back the door opened up and Raiden appeared, but he stopped when he saw me. Sub-Zero was right on his heels, and I waved. "Were you listening in on that?" Raiden queried.

"I was passing by and I really didn't hear that much," I responded with a shrug…which was half-true, right? Raiden shook his head and walked away, leaving Sub-Zero in front of me. "What?" I asked indignantly, backtracking a few steps. The Grandmaster walked towards me, until I backed into the wall. He was much taller than me, so I was a little nervous. "Uhh…"

"I really don't like you," Sub-Zero said, before turning and walking away. I stared after him as I sighed in frustration. An ice ball formed in my hand and I was tempted to throw it at him. To throw, or not to throw. I glanced at the ball of ice before tossing it. He spun around and caught it in his hand, crushing it. I suppose that wasn't the smartest idea I've ever had.

I turned around and ran down the hallway, practically tumbling into my room. The door closed behind me and Li Mei looked down at me from her position on the bed. "What the hell happened to you?" she asked, staring at me. I shook my head and stood up, collapsing into my bed and falling asleep a few moments later.

**

* * *

**

Am I proud of this chapter? Not really, to say the least. It was thrown together rather late at night. *shrugs* It was more of a filler than anything, besides the little bits at the end. What did you think? Please tell me in reviews!


	7. Sub Zero Is a Chemical I Do Not Mix With

**Thanks to everyone who read, reviewed, alerted, and faved so far! **

**Title of Chapter: Sub-Zero Is a Chemical I Do Not Mix With **  
**Disclaimer: I own nothing except for Lucipher and Hadoken! **  
**Warning: Not really a warning for this chapter. **

**Enjoy! **

* * *

**_Next Day_**

I wandered out of my room, hunger forcing me to walk. My legs were still worn out from all of the running I had done the previous day, but hunger, hunger is a pain that I find far greater than aches in the calf area. The carpeted stairs softened the thud of my booted feet. I was too wrapped up in my thoughts about Sub-Zero's and Raiden's conversation to hear the footsteps coming up behind me. A voice startled me out of my reverie, and it said, "How much of that conversation did you really hear?"

My eyes shot up to find Sub-Zero's gaze planted firmly on my face. "Not very much," I replied with a shrug. I reached the next set of stairs (I was on the fourth floor) and kept going. "Just some stuff about Raiden telling you not to tell someone some weird secret," I responded. I directed my blue eyes back to the stairs. An icy hand made contact with my elbow and I was suddenly against the wall. Sub-Zero moved closer to me, until our faces were only a few centimeters apart. He still had his mask on, but I didn't really make a difference.

We stayed like this for a little while, just gazing into one another's eyes. My gaze was not particularly dazzling; it was just a very average type of look. Like one you'd gain from a passerby, but Sub-Zero's was very easy to get lost in; it was like drowning in a pool of beautiful blue water; there was no fear, even though there seemed to be a storm raging behind the calm waters. I had nothing to lose, nothing to gain, and nothing to reach for when looking deep into his eyes. All I had feared was that he would break the gaze and leave me hanging there with nothing but a simple memory.

And I was supposed to _hate _Sub-Zero, after what had been done.

The gap between us began to close, but suddenly Subs pulled back. I reached out and put my hand on his shoulder, coming in contact with the cold shoulder plate with the design of the dragon on it. Sub-Zero pulled back again and walked downstairs, leaving me there alone, staring after him. I shook my head to clear my thoughts and mind. "Ugh!" I exclaimed in frustration, hitting the wall. I thudded down the stairs, storming off towards the dining room. I bypassed Li Mei, fury pouring out like water from a jar.

Hadoken's head lifted up off of his paws, as wolves and dogs can sense anger, fear, happiness, and most other feelings as well. He followed after me, head at my heels, and tail flicking back and forth in an anxious sort of manner. I pushed open the doors to the dining room, while Li Mei followed us, saying, "What's gotten into you, Luci?" I ignored her questions, sending the already seated Sub-Zero my hardest glare. He returned the gesture, folding his arms across his chest.

Before I could reach the table my water sword formed in my hand, and Kenshi was quick to step in front of me. Hadoken snarled at my side, snapping his jaws at the blind swordsman. "Luci, calm down," Kenshi eased, pushing my sword down. I handed him the swords, holding out my hand afterward. The water drained from the middle of the sword and formed in my hand. I tossed it into the air and moved my hand down, shaping it into a bow. I pulled water from the jug on the table to form an arrow.

I drew back my hand, in turn drawing back the bow. The arrow was in place, and with a quick flick of my fingers, my palm was facing outward. The arrow shot forward but Sub-Zero's hand came up, and the arrow turned to ice. He caught it just before it hit the table. I snorted and drew the water bow towards myself, using both of my hands to shape it into the cobra. Many of the others in the room scattered out of the way as it slithered along the ground, hissing at everyone it passed.

Sub-Zero put out his hand and attempted to freeze the cobra, but I moved my hand out of the way and it escaped – narrowly. Before the fight could go on any longer, a spark of lightning flashed around the room. The light was extremely bright, so I covered my face. When the light dimmed, I uncovered my face and froze up. Standing in the midst of it all was Raiden. "What is it with you two, dancing around each other like a pair of hyena!" Raiden said in annoyance, looking at the both of us.

The Grandmaster and I traded glances, filled with anger. Raiden continued by saying, "I want this fighting to stop, now. Lucipher, until you can learn to control yourself, you'll eat with the wolf." I gave him a questioning look and he added, "Because of the way you act. You act like a savage wolf when in Sub-Zero's presence, so if you want to act like a wolf, then you can eat with the wolf. And for you, Sub-Zero, I know there are a lot of angry feelings between you and Lucipher, but I'd expect you, of all people, to be able to keep yourself under control."

"Yes, Raiden," Sub-Zero and I replied in unison. He folded his arms across his chest and dismissed me, so I turned towards the dining room doors and walked out, with Hadoken at my heels. I was furious, but it just all bubbled up and came out in frustrated tears. It was raining too hard to go outside, so I sighed in anger and walked back up to my room. I wasn't as hungry anymore, so I skipped breakfast. Hadoken looked up at me with eager eyes, so I let him run off to find his own food.

_**That Evening **_

The doorbell to the house rang loudly, causing me to start awake. I rubbed my eyes furiously, before standing up and stumbling out of the bed. I had spent most of the day sleeping, so I was groggy. I heard the door open and a familiar voice floated up the stairs. It sounded like a certain blonde friend of mine.

I headed downstairs, coming to stop on one of the last steps. I hid behind the wall and listened and watched the scene unfold before me. Sub-Zero was standing in the corner, looking at the pair at the door. He looked at me swiftly, before turning his attention back to the pair. Raiden was on one side of the room, looking at the pair as well. Sonya had answered the door, and Kenshi and Li Mei were sitting on the couch, as a dead silence filled the room.

Standing before us was none other than Luna and Scorpion. Something was so different about them both, they seemed intertwined. I know it's odd, but they just seemed closer than before. I realized that it had been them in the little hut back in the other village. Of course Luna would be the one to throw fire balls at Scorpion.

Raiden put on a hospitable face and said, "Ah, so I see you've come to visit." Luna nodded and eyed Sub-Zero, brow furrowing in anger. Scorpion rested his hand on her shoulder and she eased up considerably – it was obvious by the way she softened her expression. Something about the way they looked together made me jealous. At one time, I must admit, I almost believed that Sub-Zero and I would've ended up like that, but life is not a fairy tale, and I'm almost positive that true love does not exist.

"Sub-Zero," Luna finally said, nodding towards him. Subs only nodded back, folding his arms across his chest. His stance was wide, and his shoulders were square. I don't think he was all too pleased to see Scorps and Luna here, but oh well. I contemplated whether or not to walk out into the open and see my friend face to face. "So, I see Luci was smart enough to avoid you." I turned my blue eyes to Sub-Zero, who just stiffened slightly. "Where is she now, huh Sub-Zero? Did you go after her and kill her, or did you just give up on her?" Luna was getting a little aggravated.

I stepped out of my hiding place and watched Luna's expression change from anger to excitement. "Luci!" she exclaimed, running over to me. I didn't want to hug her, but she wrapped her arms tightly around me, so there was nothing I could do. "I thought I wasn't gonna get to see you again!" I shrugged and nodded, escaping her hug. A little louder, she said, "Now that I've found you, maybe I can ask you this question: Would you mind coming along with Scorpion and me? You won't have to deal with Sub-Zero over here anymore!"

I could almost feel Sub-Zero's gaze snap to me. Technically speaking, if I left, wouldn't that be considered abandoning my clan? And if you leave the Lin Kuei…there are harsh consequences to pay. On the other hand, getting away from Sub-Zero may very well be a good idea. "I don't know," I responded finally. She sighed and gave me the pouty lip, but I waved her actions off with my black gloved hand. "I'm going back upstairs."

My booted feet thumped against the carpeted stairs as I continued upward, and just as I reached the third floor, Sub-Zero appeared next to me. "You know full well what happens when you abandon the Lin Kuei," he warned, his tone cold.

"Yeah, and so do you," I shot back, walking forward. Sub-Zero stepped in my way, stance wide and shoulders squared yet again. Quirking an eyebrow, I folded my arms across his chest. "Why does it bother you so much that I would consider leaving?"

"It breaks the code the rest of us hold so highly," Subs responded.

"You broke it."

"Before I was Grandmaster, and the clan was corrupt back then. You should know this," he responded.

"Right," I replied sarcastically.

"Why do you disrespect me so?" Sub-Zero asked, pent up anger flowing out, before he quickly bottled it back up.

"Why shouldn't I?" I shot back, temper flaring slightly. "After what you did to me, you left me to teach myself!"

"So that's what this is all about?" Subs questioned, looking down at me incredulously.

"Yes, it is. Kenshi and Ermac had to freaking take your place, and then you almost killed me during the tournament! Now that, that I understand. But then, you insulted me. All I wanted to do was prove that I could fight, just as well as any other ninja. I just wanted to show you that you had done a good job teaching me, and that Kenshi and Ermac had done well, also. But it didn't seem to matter, because you didn't really seem to care," I replied, looking down. "I left because I was angry…but I felt like I had disgraced you and again it didn't seem to matter."

Sub-Zero just looked back at me with his brilliant blue eyes. I shrugged and walked past him, heading back up to my room. It's not like any of it mattered, so I wasn't really going to stress over it. When I reached my room, I pushed the door open and walked to my bed. Climbing onto the unmade bed I pulled up the window shades and looked out at the black sky. Little drops of rain gathered on the window, and I closed the blinds soon afterward. I put my hands behind my head.

Sonya called everyone down for dinner, but I didn't follow. Facing Luna and Scorpion seemed like too big of an obstacle; I had been defeated in a sense when I ran upstairs. And facing Subs was not something I wanted to do, either, as I had run from that, as well, in the end. I kicked off my boots and climbed under the covers, resting my head on the pillow. It had been a long day, and so all I needed now was a bit of rest.

And what did I learn? Sub-Zero is a chemical that I do not mix with.

**

* * *

**

What do you think? Please do tell me in reviews!


	8. An Unlikely Alliance

**Thanks to everyone who has read, reviewed, alerted, and faved so far! **

**Title of Chapter: An Unlikely Alliance **  
**Disclaimer: I own nothing except for Lucipher and Hadoken! **  
**Warning: Kano. That's the warning. Kano. **

* * *

For the next few days, Sub-Zero and I didn't speak to one another. In my eyes, there was no more to be said, and apparently he felt the same way. We acted civilized at each meal, and we didn't try to kill each other every other hour. We found that by not speaking to each other, we could sit together and nothing violent came of it. But it wasn't peaceful, like it should've been. It was more of a heart stopping silence; there was something hanging in the air around us, but we didn't know what to make of it.

On the seventh day of our "silence" we came downstairs for dinner, walking side by side. Scorpion glanced at us and then looked back to Luna, who stopped mid sentence to stare at us as we passed. Sub-Zero pushed open the door for me and I just nodded, taking my seat. This was pretty much the usual routine now. Raiden seemed suspicious of us, but we reassured him that nothing was wrong.

After dinner on that seventh night, Raiden called us all into the living room. Everyone crammed into chairs and onto the couches, and Johnny Cage even sat down on the coffee table, next to Stryker. Raiden looked at all of us, giving each one of us the once over. Finally, he began by saying, "I have been monitoring the situation with Mavado, attacking numerous villages, leaving rubble behind. It seems that a village close by would be his next target – that is, if he's following a pattern."

"What're we supposed to do?" Li Mei snorted. "Mavado is a fruitcake in case you haven't noticed."

"Well, I'm going to send a group of you out to stop him before he destroys this village. I have a feeling that he's after something more than just the destruction of villages, as he's working for Shang Tsung. So Sonya and I will try to find his ulterior motives, while this group goes to track and stop him," Raiden explained. Murmurs sounded throughout the group of people.

"Who all is in this group?" Kung Lao asked curiously. The people fell silent as we all awaited Raiden's answer.

"Sub-Zero, Kenshi, Li Mei, Lucipher, Kung Lao, and Jade," Raiden replied. To me, this was no surprise. Well, it was a surprise that Kung Lao and Jade were in the group, but I suppose it wasn't that bad. Li Mei yelled out the word "crap" angrily, while Jade and Kung Lao traded glances. Kenshi looked over at Sub-Zero and me, quirking his eyebrows. "Sub-Zero, Luci, try not to kill each other." We both just nodded. As I said, there was nothing left to be said. Raiden dismissed us and told us to get a good night's rest.

So on that seventh night, I walked upstairs to my room with Li Mei, and we talked for a little while about what we were going to do to stop Mavado. I was a little relieved to have her there with us, and it helped me sleep a little easier. "G'night, Luci," Li Mei whisper-called out to me. I whisper-called my goodnight back and the lamp was turned off. Sleep came quickly after that.

_**Next Day **_

I met with our little group downstairs the next morning, and we set off towards the next village. The sky was cloudy and gray, and it was drizzling slightly. The meadow stretched out before us, and then a forest was after that. After the forest, we would reach a dirt path that led to the village. Kung Lao and Jade charged ahead, while Kenshi and Li Mei took up residence in the middle. I would've preferred to be in the middle, but since we seemed to be walking in pairs and since Sub-Zero was in the back, I ended up walking with him at the back.

We didn't talk, and that heart stopping silence ensued. That something hanging in the air mixed with the little raindrops and made the silence not only heart stopping, but awkward. I listened to Kenshi and Li Mei talk. To my great surprise, Sub-Zero spoke up, "Those two seem to get along quite well." I glanced at him before nodding my head once. Now that Subs mentioned it, they did seem to get along really well. I laughed once, a smirk crossing my face. Sub-Zero looked down at me as we continued walking.

"You're right," I agreed quietly, still smirking. For a moment, it seemed like everything was alright now. Even though Mavado had attacked my village and a village close by that one, thing seemed like they were OK. Just the contact from Sub-Zero made everything seem a little better for once. I wondered if I wanted to get revenge on my former master now. Did I? I was not sure… Li Mei's laughter startled me out of my reverie, and so I looked up at her, averting my eyes from the ground.

"Aww, you're so sweet, Kenshi!" she exclaimed.

I smiled slightly; a cold heart warming up again. I could feel it beating in my chest, but not because I was scared. Mainly just because I was able to see some form of goodness in this world. It may sound cheesy, but it really did make me feel a little better. "Grandmaster?" I asked, looking over at Subs. I had gotten used to calling him that now, so it was a habit now.

"Sub-Zero," he corrected. I paused for a moment, staring at him. He only offered me a glance.

"_Sub-Zero_," I began again. "Something about Luna…just seems different. I keep thinking back on it, but I can't figure out what it is. Got any ideas?" I quirked my eyebrows as he looked thoughtful. The grass of the meadow swayed with the slight breeze as I waited for an answer somewhat impatiently.

"A year and a half after you left," Sub-Zero started in, "Scorpion took Luna as his wife. Raiden wasn't happy about it, and I wasn't there to see the event. But I do know that after that, they left and went to live in the little village where we fought Daegon, Mavado, and Hsu Hao." I was surprised that they were married, of all things. "I honestly didn't think the two would end up married, but apparently I was proven wrong." I nodded and looked back down at the grass.

"When Luna and I first met, we made a bet, to see who would get married first. Apparently, I owe her two Twinkies and half of a Hershey's," I explained, blinking. Sub-Zero chuckled under his breath as I said this. "Hopefully, she won't remember that she won the bet." Scorpion and Luna did make quite the couple. "I think Jade and Kung Lao will be next," I added, a little out of the blue. "And then Li Mei and Kenshi." As I said this, the rain picked up. Kung Lao began to jog, and Jade stopped and looked back at us.

"Pick up the pace!" she called back to us. Kenshi did just that; Li Mei called Jade a harpy. Sub-Zero quickened his pace ever so slightly, but since his strides were so much more drawn out than my own, I had to jog to catch up to him. Satisfied, Jade followed after Kung Lao. I managed to catch up to Sub-Zero; the rain began to fall a lot harder. The forest was lot closer, but we still had a good bit of meadow to cross through. I finally realized that Hadoken was trotting along besides us.

Sub-Zero watched the wolf dog curiously, before looking down at me. I gave him a questioning glance. "How did he get the scar?" Subs asked, glancing at the black wolf dog before looking back at me.

"Oh. See, when I lived in that little village, there was an incident with another pack of wolves. The alpha of that pack had found Hadoken, so they started fighting for territorial reasons – the village was basically Hadoken's territory – and so that's how he got that scar. From that particular fight; technically he's not mine. He just followed me this far," I explained. "Probably for food – in the village, the people would feed him table scraps and whenever the other dogs brought in anything they caught, he'd steal some and eat it."

Something must have occurred to Subs, because he gained a thoughtful expression. "Mavado saw him, correct?" he asked. I nodded once; what did that have to do with anything? "Would you call me crazy if I suggested that Mavado may have gotten his own wolf?" I thought about it for a moment and looked over at Hadoken. "The reason I say so is because maybe we can track Mavado with Hadoken." That was a very good idea, I had to admit. I snapped my fingers and the wolf came to my side.

"Can you sniff out Mavado?" I asked, kneeling down next to him. Sub-Zero did the same and Hadoken sat down as well, cocking his head to the side. His right ear cocked to the side and his left one titled forward as if he was thinking hard. Hadoken put his paw on Sub-Zero's knee for a moment before drawing it back. "Oh, try petting him," I advised. Sub-Zero reached out and laid a hand on the wolf's head. Hadoken barked and backed away, sniffing the air curiously. He turned and ran across the clearing.

"Does that answer your question?" Sub-Zero asked, as we both stood up. The other four stopped as they saw Hadoken run by, and we caught up to them quickly. "The wolf is tracking Mavado," explained Sub-Zero. Kung Lao nodded and jumped over a fallen log and ran after him. Jade and Li Mei followed next, and Kenshi, Subs, and I ran after them.

Hadoken led us through the gray hued forest, leaving paw prints behind in the mud. We lost him a few times, but he always stopped and waited until we came back into view. He slowed down, so we did the same. Kenshi became restless and uneasy. "What's wrong?" Li Mei asked, looking up at him curiously. We stopped and waited for him to answer.

"Someone is coming," he warned us. Just a few moments later, the bushes rustled. Li Mei drew out her weapons, Kung Lao smoothed two fingers across his hat, and Jade crouched in the fighting position. Kenshi's hand went to the hilt of his blade, and Sub-Zero did the same as Jade. I drew out my water sword and stepped back, among our small, six-warrior line.

To our great surprise, four people stepped out and surrounded us, seemingly trapping us in a square. I nudged Sub-Zero, who leaned over and whispered, "Kano, Kira, Kobra, and Jarek." I eyed him curiously for a moment, shifting my gaze between them and Sub-Zero. "The Black Dragon clan." My eyes widened for just a moment, before I glared at them. Again, this stupid failing MK knowledge thing was setting me back a great deal.

"What do you want, Kano?" Kung Lao spat, glaring equally as hard as Kano was.

"I wanted to speak to you on diplomatic terms," Kano said, voice husky and dangerous. "Surrender your weapons." At first I thought he was talking to us, but instead, he, Kira, Kobra, and Jarek all dropped their weapons. "Now then, we have no problem with you keeping your weapons at hand." Not one of us relaxed. "Tasia was recently banished from the Black Dragon clan – and now she had joined forces with Mavado and the Red Dragon clan. We have received word of your conquest to destroy Mavado. We wanted to strike up an alliance with the six of you."

"No way!" Jade snorted, shaking her head.

"Now, now, beautiful, just listen," Jarek cooed, eyeing Jade with a look of slight lust in his eyes. She looked like she was about to jump forward and strangle him, or even maybe claw his eyes out. This was the reaction Jarek had wanted, so he folded his arms across his chest and smirked. "Kano's proposal involves the defeat of Mavado, so why wouldn't you listen?"

"Because you're dirty little liars!" Li Mei shouted back.

"Ah," Kano chuckled darkly. "Feisty women, are you? Besides the dormant, weakling over there." He gestured to me. I glared at him in annoyance. "She couldn't even defeat Tasia."

"Hey, I could've beaten her!" I said, as Sub-Zero clamped a cold hand down on my shoulder. I shrugged his hand away. It was obviously the reaction Kano had wanted, and I had given it to him. For him, it was like taking candy from a baby. I stomped my foot furiously and backed off, my weapon still clenched firmly in my hands.

Kano continued by saying, "Now then, would you like to take us up on our offer?"

"Why should we trust you?" Kenshi asked, finally speaking up. "You cannot be trusted."

"Yes we can," Kira snorted from her side of the square-like formation. Her red ponytail flicked back and forth as she shook her head with a smirk planted firmly on her lips. "We want Mavado dead. Just like you want him dead. So, if we form this alliance, it can be done in half of the time. Plus, I can take that little brat Tasia out!" A vicious smirk spread across her face now. Kung Lao looked at each one of us. I didn't want to put in any opinion, so I just shrugged my shoulders.

"Sub-Zero?" Kung Lao asked, looking to the Grandmaster for support. The man in question stood to his full height and looked at each of the four Black Dragon members, scrutinizing them, as it seemed. He folded his arms across his chest and turned back to Kung Lao.

"I cannot say if they're trustworthy or not," Subs replied. Kung Lao took a deep breath and eyed the rest of us wearily.

"What do you say?" Kano asked, maliciousness seeping into his already vicious, dangerous, and husky voice.

"We'll take you up on your offer," Kung Lao replied, seeming a little uncertain of his decision.

"Good, very good," Kano replied, voice soft but deadly. "Do you know where Mavado is?"

"The wolf is tracking him," Li Mei said, anger clear in her voice. "You stay in front of us where we can watch you, got it, scum bags?" The four of them nodded and retrieved their weapons. "Good, and if you try anything, we won't hesitate to take your heads off."

"We understand to the fullest extent," Jarek responded, smirking lightly.

And so, we continued on our journey…with the Black Dragon clan in tow.

**

* * *

**

So what did you think? Please tell me in reviews!


	9. Avoiding Epic Fail Jumps Over Rivers

**Thanks to everyone who has read, reviewed, alerted, and faved this fic! **

**Title of Chapter: Avoiding Epic Fail Jumps Over Rivers  
Disclaimer: I own nothing except for Lucipher and Hadoken!  
Warning: Very mild language, very, very mild language. **

_**

* * *

**_

Next Day

"What now?" Li Mei asked, dipping her hand into the water of the river. This river – it ran through the forest. It was swift and deeper more so at some points than at other points. Her hand acted as an obstacle in the way of the flow, so she pulled out her hand and wiped it on her pants. "Couldn't we get Sub-Zero to freeze it or something?" I looked up inquiringly at the man in question, but he just shook his head.

"It wouldn't work. This river is too deep, even with my and Luci's powers combined," Sub-Zero responded vaguely. "There should be another way across." I peered over the bank and into the clear waters. As it went farther down, however, it got deeper. Even just peering over gave me the chills; they rattled up my spine. Kano and Jarek were searching the area around us, as Kung Lao and Jade walked up and down the bank in search of an alternate route. Kira came up next to me.

She seemed to be judging the distance, but I wasn't too sure. The red head backed up, counting her steps. She stuck one of her blades in the ground about ten feet away, which was the distance between the bank and the tree. "Look," she commented, coming back over to us. "The distance between the tree and the bank is about ten feet. When looking more closely…I think the river is about ten feet wide. Kobra and I can jump that." The red head smirked and ran back to her blade, picking it up.

Kobra looked on as his counterpart sprinted towards the bank. She used a carefully placed rock as a springboard and flipped across the river, landing gracefully on one knee. Kobra nodded and did the same, landing hard on his feet. Sub-Zero watched Kano and Jarek walk back over to us, followed by Jade and Kung Lao. "Let's get on with this, then," Kano said, backing up. He made it across easily, and Kung Lao and Jade were next. Kenshi followed, Li Mei and Hadoken crossed at the same time, and that left Subs, Jarek, and me.

"Let's go, Jarek!" Kobra called, amusement in his voice. Jarek just rolled his eyes, and for a second I saw him eye the water. As I turned to my left I saw that Sub-Zero was already across. Jarek and I glanced at each other; apparently neither of us could jump that far. Kobra and Kira started laughing, mostly at Jarek, though. Li Mei gave me a what-the-hell look as I shook my head. If you recall, I'm…afraid of water. Jarek followed my lead, unsure of what to do with himself.

"I'll fall in," I replied, looking around. There had to be a shallow, slower part of the river, right? "C'mon, Jarek!" I said abruptly, taking him by the wrist and dragging him along with me. Now, I didn't like Jarek in the least, but I had some form of sympathy for him now that we shared this fear/weakness. He ripped his wrist away but followed me regardless. "I'll find another way across!" I called back to the others. "Keep going!" They nodded after a moment, and took off through the forest.

"This is just great!" Jarek exclaimed, folding his arms across his chest. "I'm stuck with _you_! Why couldn't I have gotten stuck with one of the pretty ones?" I ignored this, but it was extremely hard. "So what's your plan?" I glanced at him for just a moment, before stopping and looking around. He stopped next to me and waited impatiently for an answer.

"Well, if I'm right, there should be a shallow, slower part of the river. So that's what we're going to find. I can't make a jump like that, and I'm afraid of water," I explained. He nodded for me to continue. "That's the plan. If that fails, then we're up the crick without a paddle." With that being said, I started to walk again. It took a moment for me to hear his footfalls just behind me again, and I thought of something. "Either you walk in front of me or next to me," I told him, stopping.

Jarek came up next to me, kick axe in hand. "Too bad," he said, smirking at my expression. I rolled my eyes and continued walking, so he walked next to me. Neither of us trusted the other, but right now, it didn't really matter. After a while, we fell into a somewhat comfortable silence. I examined the river every so often, but I couldn't find anything that gave clues as to how deep the water was. Another issue was that it began to rain again, and this time hard, coming through the canopy of trees. The forest darkened considerably, taking on a gray-blue hue.

"This will only make the river rise," I said in frustration and fear. I walked to the bank, keeping my footfalls careful so that I wouldn't slip in the mud. Jarek came up next to me, but he slid and I grabbed his elbow to help him. It wouldn't look good for me to go back to the others with no Jarek. He looked at me incredulously and I just shrugged and responded by saying, "I only saved you to save myself." He grunted and looked into the water. I summoned an ice dagger and dropped it into the water.

It sank down, but it caught in the mud just a few feet below the water. "We're getting closer," I concluded, not daring to reach back down to get my dagger. "Let's go." I carefully came back onto the wet grass, and through the pouring rain I watched Jarek do the same. Together, we continued through the forest, seemingly coming closer to a shallow end. There was a large row of trees blocking our path, so Jarek used his axe to cut us a path. I don't think it mattered that we hated each other; we both wanted the same thing.

We came out on the other side, and as we walked a little farther, the grass disappeared and slick stone replaced it. There were puddles everywhere, so we had to slosh through a few of them. We reached another section of the river, where I dropped another ice dagger inside it. It was much slower, as well, and the dagger only sank about a foot and a half down. "Now is as good a time as ever," Jarek muttered under his breath. I left the dagger behind again, and we crossed through the river.

"Now we just have to catch up with the others," I said, more to myself than to Jarek. We took off, running through the forest. Eventually, we slowed to a walk. "I wonder how far they got without us." Jarek snorted at my comment, amused is some strange way. We pushed through the last, thick line of trees, where we came to a dirt path.

"How far did they get?" Jarek asked, sounding a little surprised.

"They couldn't have gotten that far," I said matter-of-factly, shaking my head…but I wasn't so sure. It was getting darker again because of the gray storm clouds. I picked up the pace and kept to the dirt path, while Jarek trailed a little farther behind me. After a few minutes I realized he was farther back, and I stopped and waited. "Would you hurry up?" Jarek just flicked me on the side of the head, and started to walk again.

_**Later That Evening **_

I kept treading on Jarek's heels, because it was so dark. And plus it was fun to annoy him. It kept me occupied, as we kept going. The moon rose up high in the sky, but there were only patches of it shining down on the old dirt path. Clouds kept passing in front of it. As we progressed, we could see little specks of light in the distance. "A village!" I exclaimed joyously, clasping my hands together. Jarek gave me the no-duh look, but he looked relieved as well. The two of us quickened our paces in the dead of the night.

As we got closer, an aroma floated through the air. It smelled a lot like food, which was something neither of us had eaten in two days. We glanced at each other before bolting for the source of the smell, pushing and shoving each other out of the way. If there was one thing I always took seriously, it was my food. We came to a small hut, which was well built and sturdy. I pushed Jarek to the side as we looked in through the window. Inside was an old woman; she was preparing something.

Jarek drew out his axe but I slapped his wrist. He looked at me incredulously after I put my hands on my hips. "There's an easier way to get food," I whispered, going over to the hut's door. I knocked once or twice, as Jarek put away his axe and approached me. The door flew open and the gray haired lady looked at both of us. "Excuse us, but do you have any food? We haven't eaten in two days and we've been travelling through the forest nearby," I explained, looking to Jarek for some form of support.

"Right," he agreed, glancing back down at me.

"How I know you not evil?" she asked, eyeing us both. Her English was clearly very broken, but nonetheless, she spoke it. "You may be Black Dragon clan." I shook my head while Jarek shrugged. I nudged him and he shook his head, as well. "Alright, weary travelers, come in." She hobbled out of the way and let us through. "Eat up!" Jarek and I made a mad dash for the table, getting our paws on whatever we could find. "You hungry," the lady said, eyes wide. "I make more."

I pulled up a chair and sat down, reaching across the table for the loaf of bread. Jarek did as I did, except he reached for the bowl of rice. When eating, it was like we weren't enemies. We seemed more at ease with each other. I picked up some weird food I had never seen before and Jarek watched as I examined it. "What is it?" he asked, swallowing a rather large bite of rice.

"I do not know," I responded, looking over at the old lady. She was humming some weird tune, but it was calming nonetheless. "Lemme see." I ripped part of it off and ate it; it was amazingly good. It had a garlic sort of flavor, but with a spicy kick. It resembled a loaf of bread, but you could see the garlic and spices in the crust and dough. "Here, try it," I prompted, handing Jarek the other half. He took it as soon as I held it out and woofed it down.

"Is there anymore of it?" he asked when he had finished. I shrugged and looked across the table, searching for more of the bread and a few napkins. However, both things evaded me. Since I could find no napkins, I took off my right glove and used it. "What the hell?"

"No vulgar language!" the lady shouted over her shoulder. Jarek looked like he was about to kill her, but she said, "You want eat, right?" He sighed and sat back, repeating his sentence, replacing hell with heck.

"I don't have a napkin," I replied, holding up my glove. "It acts as a substitute."

"No, I meant your arms!" Jarek replied, picking up another bowl of rice.

"Huh?" I asked, looking down. "Oh! You mean the ice, right?" He nodded as he ate, looking over at me. It seemed that Jarek was much calmer when eating, so I'd have to keep that in mind. "It happened a little while ago." I just shrugged and returned to eating. The lady replaced the food we had eaten, including the bread. I almost had to fight Jarek for it, but I snagged it and split it in half, giving him one half and keeping the other for myself. This is how the evening continued, with us making up for two days worth of meals missed.

When I finished, I stood up and stretched, walking outside. Looking over my shoulder, I saw Jarek walk over to her couch and pretty much pass out from the exhaustion and the food coma. I wondered where the rest of the group was. How far had they gotten? What to do now… I was tired, very tired, but I wanted to find Sub-Zero and the others. I wondered if Kano was cursing Jarek out for getting lost. But I suppose it was partly my fault. Of course Jarek didn't have to follow me, so it's his fault, too…

I walked back into the hut and the old lady looked at me and said, "Big idiot took couch. No gentleman these days." I laughed at her comment and looked over at the sleeping form of Jarek. At least we had managed to _not _kill each other. "I set mat out for you." She pointed to a comfortable looking mat with a few blankets and pillows.

"Thank you," I said, bowing. She bowed back and then hobbled over to the table. I walked over to the mat and lay down, pulling the covers up to my shoulders. It wasn't hard to fall asleep that night, so gratefully I went to bed, wondering what the next morning would hold in store for Jarek and me.

**

* * *

**

What did you think? Please do tell me in reviews!


	10. Til Death Do Us Part

**Thanks to all who have read, reviewed, alerted, and faved! **

**Title of Chapter: 'Til Death Do Us Part  
Disclaimer: I own nothing except for Lucipher and Hadoken!  
Warning: Violence, mild language, the usual. **

**A/N: deegirlsjs owns Luna! **

_**

* * *

**_

Next Day

Jarek woke me up the next morning by kicking me in the side with his booted foot. I slapped his ankle half-asleep, until I opened my eyes just a smidge to find him standing there. "Let's go find the others," he said, starting for the door. The little old lady was shuffling around her kitchen, so I stretched and got to my feet, pulling on my black gloves and black boots. By the time I got outside, Jarek was a good ten feet ahead of me, so I had to jog to catch up to him. His strides were drawn out, further than Sub-Zero's, might I add.

A lot of people were staring at us like we were freaks, but who could blame them? I suppose it wasn't often that you saw a Cryomancer running around with a 6'1 guy with a kick axe on his belt. I shrugged to myself and ignored most of them, but door after door slammed closed as we passed. "What is this, 1965?" I muttered under my breath, looking over my shoulder. Stopping in my tracks as it began to snow again, I put a hand on my companion's shoulder, causing him to turn around.

I looked around inquiringly and noticed that people had begun to reopen their doors and stare at us, as if we were some piece of hot gossip. And then my magnificent idea hit me, so I began, "Jarek, we need to look more innocent. People are beginning to seem…weary of our presence." He snorted once, rolling his eyes, but I could tell that he agreed. "So either you ditch the axe," I said whilst pointing, "or you act more like a gentleman. You decide." I leaned back on my heels and folded my arms across my chest.

"The axe is special," Jarek shot back, but he continued by saying, "and why would I act like a gentleman?"

"Because, if you do, people won't suspect us," I said, my voice hushed. Jarek growled, his hand touching the hilt of his axe. "Ah, ah, ah, you have to go back to the others with moi in one piece. Why do you think I helped you out at the river yesterday, huh?" I quirked an eyebrow and smirked at his furious expression. This was amusing, very amusing. "So, I suggest you figure something out." I closed my eyes as if I was victorious, but before I could tell what had happened, I was on Jarek's back.

There was scarcely enough time to grab hold of his massive shoulders so that I wouldn't fall off; he was obviously in a hurry. I dug my knees into his sides to annoy him but it didn't seem to faze him. He just folded his arms across his chest and continued walking, a smug look on his face. It did however make us look more innocent, as people smiled at us as if we were a couple. I flicked some snow off of my shoulder and noted that it had gotten considerably colder, not just because of the snow.

"Stop that!" Jarek complained. "It's cold enough; you're not helping!" But I had no idea as to what he was blathering on about.

"What on God's green earth are you talking about?" I demanded shortly. "If you think it's me making everything colder, it's not. I lost that power a long, long time ago." A shadow crossed my face before I looked away from the snowy path, recalling the incidents that occurred five years prior. I suppose a part of me still hated Sub-Zero, but I believed it was fading. No matter what I told myself, I knew it was fading away. So for now, I grasped it with both hands and used my vengeful fury to my advantage.

Before either of us knew what was happening, a blue clad ninja ran into the path and fired an ice ball. I jumped off Jarek's back and landed with one knee on the ground and my palm face down. The snow turned to ice and jutted up before the ninja, knocking her off balance. I stood up and dusted myself off, looking upon the ninja curiously. It was Frost. "Hey, lunatic, same side, remember?" Frost snarled, jumping up. She and I circled each other for a moment while Jarek looked on.

"We're not on the same side, Frost – you tried to kill me in the forest!" I snapped, drawing out my water sword. The woman with the spiky white hair drew out her daggers and glared at me, her icy blue eyes ablaze. "C'mon Frost, you wanna fight me? Then let's fight, because you know full well we were trained by the same ninja!" She jumped forward in a heated rage, and so I did the same. We clashed for a moment before I kicked her back and slashed at her. She jumped up and came down with the dagger.

I moved out of the way and put my palm on the ground, creating a small barrier of ice between us. She shattered it with a kick but I turned the ice crystals to water and then into a cobra. It was smaller than the one formed from my water sword, but it was a cobra nonetheless. The transparent blue creature slid forward, hissing and spitting at her. Unlike Sub-Zero, she didn't know she could freeze it, so she backed away – not in fear, but in caution. I extended my hand quickly and the cobra shot forward.

It latched its teeth into her leg and the freezing process began, as her leg froze. I called the cobra back, making a fist, ultimately crushing and destroying the cobra. She was half frozen so she couldn't get away. I took a menacing step forward, but Jarek came from behind me with the axe and hit the ice. There was a moment of silence until Frost screamed. Her leg was bloody, with a gash going from her thigh to her ankle. Jarek backed away slowly, coming to stand next to me.

To our great surprise, we heard, "GET OVER HERE" shouted rather loudly. A kunai shot out of the shadows and stuck in Frost's back. A look of pain crossed her face as Scorpion appeared. He jerked the kunai out as Luna walked out, her blonde hair flecked with white snowflakes. She jumped forward and slashed Frost's back, causing her to cry out in pain, yet again. The white haired Cryomancer crumpled to the ground in pain, angry looks mixing with pained ones.

Luna was going in for the kill shot when I stopped her. "Don't," I warned, a dark look crossing my face. My friend looked up at me with a frown but she backed off, her bloody fire sword still in hand. "Let Frost suffer. Her wounds will heal." Frost had the same ability I had – the one where our wounds freeze over. I could see that the process was already beginning, so I had no worries and I felt no guilt. Luna gave me a curious look. "Good to see you and your…husband…Luna."

"How'd you find out?" she asked incredulously. "Lemme guess, Sub-Zero told you?" I nodded once and put away my weapons, as Jarek sheathed his blood stained kick axe. "Hey, wait…why the hell are you with a Black Dragon clan member?" All the villagers screamed and the doors slammed shut, so I face palmed. Luna jumped up and tried to stab him, but he kicked her out of the way. "You'll pay for that!" she said, wiping some blood from her face. That kick had split her open, unfortunately.

"Stop, Luna, wait!" I shouted, jumping in front of him. "He's an ally, he's an ally!" She stopped and looked at me as if I was a traitor. Scorpion looked curious as he dragged Frost's body to the side of the path, and let her lie there to watch things unfold. He approached us and stood with Luna. "Sub-Zero, Kung Lao, Kenshi, Jade, Li Mei, and I – we all teamed up with Kano, Kira, Kobra, and Jarek here to take down Mavado!" I explained, waving my hands frantically. The behemoth behind me nodded.

"Well you could mention that!" Luna exclaimed, blood dripping across her cheek. She wiped it off and huffed. "That fat idiot," she began, pointing to Jarek, "just split me open!" I nodded once and looked around. "Whatever. So why aren't you guys with the others?" the blonde questioned, taking a piece of cloth to her forehead where the cut was.

I explained about our situation, but just as I finished, a blood curdling scream lifted through the air. We all spun around to see a few of the huts on fire…and Daegon coming towards us.

Tasia was in tow, a sick smirk on her face. Mavado was nowhere in sight, but I guessed the others were fighting him. "Run," I told Luna. Scorpion got into fighting position, and Luna followed suit. I slapped my hand down on her shoulder and she looked at me, determination written all over her face. "Luna, I need you to get the villagers out of here! They'll die if you don't; that fire is spreading too fast." The blonde nodded and ran off. "Scorpion, I hate to ask, but could you…follow after her?"

"I don't take orders," he started, "but somebody has to keep her out of trouble." Scorpion ran off in the other direction, so Jarek and I turned back to Daegon and Tasia. Frost was healed by now, so she ran off, avoiding this confrontation. Jarek pulled out his kick axe and I drew out my ice staff. The fire was spreading quickly; at least half of the village was now burning. The two Red Dragon clan members laughed haughtily.

"You think you beat us?" Tasia snorted. I looked over at Jarek, who was eyeing her with a deadly gaze. I knew the Black Dragons were evil, but they still had some form of order within their ranks, and a traitor was not to be tolerated. I let Jarek have Tasia, and the two went at it, beating the crap out of each other. I looked over at Daegon, who was approaching me slowly, a blade in hand. I was scared to say the least, but I wasn't gonna run away from a fight like this one.

Daegon burst forward all of a sudden, his blade coming awfully close to my face. I moved out of the way and tossed the staff aside – what I needed was my sword. So I drew it out and we sparred, but he kicked me back. I got back to my feet just in time to fall back down to the ground, as he came straight forward. I tripped him up and came down hard with the sword, and it stabbed him square in the hand. My goal was to get him to drop his weapon, but it didn't work. Daegon held on to the blade and stood up, making a swift motion with his hand.

The blade cut my arm, and it hurt. It hurt bad. I glared at him and fired a kick to his temple, something I used to do to Sub-Zero when we would train together in the clearing. He was barely affected, besides the fact that he was a little dazed. I made an X across his chest and stomach, but he caught my hand and sliced my arm. It stung, worse than a few good wasp stings. The cold of the freezing ability I possessed made it sting ten times worse, but I slashed at his shoulder, making a clean cut.

However, we never finished our battle, because Daegon ran off towards Mavado, who had appeared, a fierce and vicious cut across his face. The two retreated, along with Frost, surprisingly enough. Tasia was battered and bloody, but she got away as well. It all happened so fast, that I didn't quite understand what was going on. Jarek was a strong fighter, but he collapsed in the snow. I approached him and found a gash; it was a very deep one at that. It was one I could not heal, and it was in his chest.

"Jarek?" I asked wearily, kneeling down next to him. He gave me an annoyed look and closed his eyes; I could see that he was in a lot of pain. "Why'd they all take off?" I doubted that he knew, but there was no harm in asking, and the best thing I could think of doing to help him out a little bit was to keep him talking. "Mavado looked bad; he has a nasty cut in his face." Jarek now looked curious, as he opened both eyes and struggled to sit up. We both looked over our shoulders and we were both shocked to see the group standing there.

Kenshi came over to us; he looked me over first, and finding no considerable damage he looked to Jarek. The latter's breath was jagged and it was obvious that the gash had cut deeper than I had originally thought. "Where's Sub-Zero?" I asked quietly, looking around. I didn't see him, but I just thought he was doing the same thing that Luna and Scorpion were doing. Kenshi glanced at me and then helped Jarek to his feet. I stood up and waited impatiently for an answer.

"Sub-Zero is half-alive," Kenshi said carefully.

"What the hell happened?" I demanded, stepping in front of him.

"Saibot showed up, that's what happened," Kung Lao spoke up, eyes fierce. "Him and Smoke; they almost killed him. Frost didn't do much to help, either, and last we saw, Saibot was following after Mavado. We managed to run them off." So it was Noob Saibot who had appeared now, eh? I wanted to see Sub-Zero; how bad could it be? Li Mei and Kira were kneeling next to my fallen former master. It was hard for me to look at.

Sub-Zero had a gash deeper than even Jarek's in his chest, along with a slit at the base of his throat. Li Mei and Kira gave me unsure glances as I looked over the rest of the cuts and bruises. "He's conscious," Kira confirmed as Subs tried to get to his feet. The three of us helped hold him up as blood stained the once pure white snow. There was a cut in his back, too. I don't know why I felt anger towards Saibot. Hadn't I been bent on getting revenge for what Sub-Zero had done to me? If the answer to that was yes, then I should've been glad that Saibot had done half of the job for me.

I could kill him now, and finish the job…I would have done what I had strived for.

But I found that my resolve was gone; now I only felt sorrow. I was worried about Sub-Zero, surprisingly enough. And it confused me in more ways than one. I was supposed to hate him, but now that I saw him in his weakest state I couldn't find any of that hate. If I searched all the corners of my being I wouldn't be able to find any of that hatred. It was gone… Replaced by a feeling unlike any other, and it closely resembled a feeling of loss. Kenshi gave me a reassuring clap on the shoulder.

Upon looking further I could see that a few of us were injured much to the fashion of Jarek; Kobra was nursing a gash that cut right across his stomach, while Kung Lao had a cut in his back that was bleeding profusely. We were all hurt, but those of us who were seriously injured ended up being: Kobra, Kung Lao, Jarek, and Sub-Zero. "We'd better find a place for them to rest," Jade pointed out, as Luna and Scorpion joined us.

"The village has been evacuated," Luna reported. I bowed to her, a grateful look on my face. She bowed in return. "Mind if we join you all?" It was fine with us; now was not the time to be nit-picky. "Alrighty then, there's a house up through that forest – I believe Liu Kang and Sindel are there, among others." After we put out the fires, we headed towards the forest. Kenshi kept a watchful eye over Jarek and Kung Lao, while Li Mei, Kira, and I kept our eyes on Kobra and Sub-Zero.

It was hard going with four of us injured like this. But what more could we do? Now we just had to make sure that those four survived the night.

**

* * *

**

What did you think? Please, tell me in reviews!


	11. Secrets Revealed

**Thanks to the readers and reviewers! **

**Title of Chapter: Secrets Revealed  
Disclaimer: I own nothing except for Lucipher and Hadoken!  
Warning: Cussing on Sub-Zero and Luci's part. **

**Enjoy! **

_**

* * *

**_

That Evening

"I'm exhausted," Li Mei said, a little out of the blue. It startled most of us, including myself. She collapsed on the snowy ground and closed her eyes, as if she was about to fall asleep in the snow. A part of me agreed with her, while another part of me urged us on, mainly because I was afraid that Sub-Zero may not make it. In all actuality, his brother had beaten him badly, even Kenshi could see that. But Kano sat down in the snow, up against a tree, and so the rest of us did the same.

Kenshi sat down next to Li Mei and looked at her, a slight smile on his face. Jade was tending to Kung Lao's wounds, while Kira checked on Kobra. Kano had already fallen asleep, which surprised me. He didn't seem like the type that would do that, but I guess you learn new things every day. Jarek didn't want anyone near him, regardless of the seriousness of his injury. To me, he was the stubborn, bull-headed type. I could fix that – if I had wanted to. As I was thinking about this, I gave Sub-Zero a glance; he was sitting in the same fashion as Kano, except with his left knee pulled up to his chest and his arm draped across said knee.

I quirked an eyebrow as I turned my gaze back to Jarek, who was watching Luna and Scorpion with an almost disgusted look. Speaking of the spectre and his…wife…they were sitting cross legged, opposite each other, talking in low voices. I shook my head and grinned, turning back to the injured men before me. I had the urge to tend to their injuries, but I kept it to myself and I didn't act on it. The sky was streaked with orange, purple, and pink, and I admired it for a little while, just to take my mind off of things.

"Who were you fighting?" a voice asked. I arched an eyebrow and looked at Jarek, who nodded towards Subs. I looked over at the blue clad ninja as his brilliant blue eyes fell upon me.

"Daegon," I replied quietly, feeling the need to keep my voice low for his sake. "He got away, though." I kept myself from asking the question that was floating through my mind at that particular moment, just to spare Sub-Zero. I was holding my tongue, just this once, which was a novelty, believe you me. It was hard; I almost slipped up as a few silent moments followed. This was a scenario I didn't think I'd really ever find myself in, but oh well. Jarek stretched, which caught my eye, mainly because I was keeping an eye on him.

"Ask your question," Sub-Zero instructed, shifting, but I could tell that it hurt him to do so.

"What exactly happened to Mavado? Last I saw, he had a nasty gash across his face," I blurted out before I could stop myself. Jarek was fooling around with his hair when I said this, but he stopped and looked over at Sub-Zero, as if he wanted an answer. Subs looked thoughtful for a moment before he gave his answer.

"Mavado was fighting Kenshi, but he turned and went after Li Mei, who was left vulnerable at the time. Kenshi, feeling the need to protect her, attacked him and so he earned that scar because of his own foolish mistake," Sub-Zero explained. So Kenshi was protecting Li Mei, eh? I chuckled to myself as Jarek gained another look of disgust. "If you have a question, feel free to ask." I nodded and hesitated for a moment, before standing up and walking over to him. I sat down, cross legged next to Sub-Zero to keep him company.

Luna raised her voice at Scorpion, before the spectre calmed her back down. I enjoyed people-watching, especially at a time like this. It was interesting, the way we had all set aside our differences to take out Mavado. Even Kano had kept his foul temper in check, except in battle, of course. I hoped that no one would be around to attack us, because we were weakened enough as it was. We did have number on our side, because we were traveling in a group of ten, believe it or not.

Hadoken, my loyal wolf dog, trotted up to us and collapsed at my feet, exhausted from the past few days. I stroked his fur absently, glad to have such a warm being close by. It's rather cold next to Sub-Zero, if you know what I mean. And that's when I realized just how tired I actually was. I pulled Hadoken into my lap and rested my chin on top of his head. He snuffed but got comfortable and that's how I fell asleep that night.

_**Next Day **_

In the morning, I was one of the first awake, behind Kira and Li Mei. "Hey," Li Mei whisper-called, nudging me with her foot. Hadoken was sitting next to Jarek, surprisingly enough. I opened my eyes just a little and stuck my hand out absently, trying to smack her away. I made contact with her face, but it was a weak little slap and she just giggled. Kira even looked slightly amused, but she hid it well. "Hey, you should take a look around, girly." I opened my eyes and looked up at her incredulously.

Kira pointed and I realized I was leaning against something…or someone… Actually, Sub-Zero's arm was around my shoulders and I was tucked safely next to him, something that my grandparents would do when I was upset or sick. I had my knees pulled up to my chest and my shoulder in Sub-Zero's side. I felt so small in comparison, but it was so comfortable… Until I actually realized what position I was in. "Holy crap!" I yelled, jumping up. Kira and Li Mei broke down laughing, falling to their knees. I glared at them, but my expression was one of shock. That was a little too close of a call for me.

The women's laughter and my "holy crap" woke Jarek up, who promptly fell over and glared at us. Kano opened his good eye and then rolled it, standing up and stretching. Luna threw a ball of fire at us, half-asleep, curled up next to Scorpion, who hadn't slept a wink all night, of that I was almost positive. "You two are idiots!" I yelled at Kira and Li Mei, my face flushing red. Sub-Zero was awake at this point, and he seemed confused. "I can't believe… You… Ugh!" I threw my hands up in the air and turned my back on the Kira and Li Mei.

"You're the one who fell asleep curled up next to Sub-Zero," Li Mei snorted, getting to her feet.

"More like curled up in Sub-Zero's arms!" Kira corrected, doing the same as Li Mei. They giggled like little school girls as I glanced frantically at Sub-Zero. I wanted to scream, but I didn't. This was probably the single most embarrassing thing that had happened to me so far…and to have Subs here it only made it ten times worse. I face palmed and didn't dare look over at my former master, but I could feel his brilliant blue eyes shift to me. I was mortified, so I could only imagine how he felt.

I rubbed my temples and glared at them. Kira clapped me on the shoulder and said, "Don't think twice about it, you know you loved it!" I wanted to hurt Kira. Kenshi and Jarek had to grab hold of me and keep me back so that I wouldn't strangle her, or use my weapons on her. She just smirked and walked away, followed by Li Mei. Kenshi left me to Jarek, who picked me up from behind so that I wouldn't kill Kira. Sub-Zero was on his feet; he looked better than he had the night before, but I was still a little worried.

Sub-Zero nodded towards Jarek, who let me go, but he still walked just a few paces behind us. We started through the forest, with Kano, Kung Lao, and Jade up in the front. Kira and Kobra walked a few yards behind them, Li Mei and Kenshi were a few feet behind them, and Luna and Scorpion were a few feet behind those two. Jarek of course was behind Sub-Zero and me, and we were behind Luna and Scorpion. "I apologize, Sub-Zero," I said, rubbing the back of my neck awkwardly.

"It's fine," Subs replied, shrugging. "I didn't even notice." I nodded once and glared at the ground, still a little furious, with Kira, of course. However, I noted that I was actually going faster than Sub-Zero, so I slowed my pace to keep up with him. I had to give it to him, he was doing better than I ever could if I was brutally attacked by Saibot. Not that I'd ever say it out loud. Hadoken trotted at my feet, nipping at my heels every few minutes. I realized what he wanted so I sent him off to hunt.

Something rustled in the nearby bushes, and so I looked over. They stopped moving and out of curiosity I approached, but nothing was there. Shrugging it off, I walked back to the group.

_**Later That Afternoon **_

We finally reached the house on the other side of the forest, and Liu Kang greeted us at the door. I heard the same rustling sound, but I ignored it this time. He led us into the house where Li Mei collapsed on the couch, letting the fire warm her up. Liu told us to get comfortable, so I sat down on the stool near the window. Unfortunately, the four Black Dragon guys had to hide out because Sindel of all people would never let us get away with allying with them. I couldn't remember who Sindel was exactly, which worried me slightly.

As I mulled these things over, Raiden appeared in the middle of the room. He gestured to Sub-Zero, who stood up and followed him to the next room over. The door closed and I jumped out of my seat, tip-toeing over to the door. I titled my head to the side so that I could listen in. "Does she know?" Raiden asked, his voice hushed.

"No," Sub-Zero responded. "Why would she?"

"Then let's keep it that way. And I'd watch your step, Sub-Zero, because you're on thin ice as it is, only due to the fact that you're getting a little too close to her," Raiden replied. I found this very, very interesting, so I kept listening in. "I know it was different back then, when you were training her, and I know it was different all those years ago when she was just another ninja and you barely gave her a glance, but it's obviously changing." What the hell did Raiden mean by "just another ninja" and "all those years ago"?

"I understand that Raiden," Sub-Zero cut in, "but when I was training her you didn't designate what I could and couldn't do. I'm trying to keep my distance but it's getting a little difficult with Scorpion and Luna around! Are we done here?" I didn't know if Raiden would let Subs take that tone with him, but obviously Raiden blew it off, because he gave a calm answer.

"Sub-Zero, believe me, we're done here," Raiden replied, coolly. I heard footsteps so I ran back to my seat and sat down, looking out the window. Sub-Zero walked out and we heard a sharp clap of thunder as Raiden teleported away. I didn't understand what they had been talking about, but I figured it was about me. Part of me wanted to confront Sub-Zero, but another part of me wanted to confront Raiden. Since the latter didn't sound like such a good idea, I decided I needed to ask Sub-Zero.

When everyone else filed towards the dining room for dinner, I caught sight of Sub-Zero going upstairs. I was starving, but my curiosity got the best of me. You know what they say, curiosity killed the cat, but satisfaction brought him back. I took the stairs two at a time until we reached the landing, where I stepped in front of him. "I figured you were the one trailing me," Sub-Zero said, folding his arms across his chest. I nodded and tried to think of how to start this. I could be blunt…or I could dance around my point and see if he caught on. "You wanted something?" He quirked an eyebrow.

"Yeah, yeah," I replied hastily. "I was walkin' past earlier today, when I heard you talkin' to Raiden." Sub-Zero paused before nodding for me to continue. "I heard something about…well…" And I blurted out everything that I had heard, which was the whole conversation. He kind of just stared at me curiously. "Uh, so yeah, I'm a little…confused…" I waited impatiently for an answer. It appeared as if Sub-Zero was contemplating something, but to my surprise he moved closer and held the same curious look.

Taking my wrist gently, he took me to what appeared to be his room. He let me go and I sat down on the edge of the bed, watching as he bolted the door behind him. Sub-Zero gestured for me to make myself comfortable, so I moved closer to the headboard and I sat cross legged. Subs sat cross legged in front of me, about a foot away, but it was a big bed, so that was relatively close. "Raiden will fry me for explaining things, but you'll learn sooner or later, and it's best that you hear it from me," he began.

"The world that you think you come from…your Earth," Sub-Zero began, waiting for me to nod. I nodded. "Is basically a parallel world to ours. We have our Earthrealm while you have…just Earth. So the two are pretty much parallel worlds, connected by portals. The ones Raiden can create." I was following right now, but I figured I was about to get confused out of my mind. "Well, you're not a native of that…world." I gave him a what-the-fuck look. "What I mean, is the two worlds are connected by portals, we've established that, correct?"

"Just Earth and Earthrealm, connected by portals, got it," I replied with a decisive nod.

"Well, you believe you're from…" Sub-Zero gestured for me to finish his sentence. It took me a minute, but I got it.

"Just Earth," I finished.

"Right. When in all actuality of things, you're from my world."

"Well yeah, I knew that," I replied. "I'm part of the Lin Kuei…right?"

"Yes, but you're getting ahead of me," Sub-Zero responded. "You think you were kidnapped at birth…right? And sent to live in… "Just Earth" right?" I nodded. "Well that's not true. Here's what Raiden doesn't want you to know. When you were twenty years old, the Black Dragon clan lured you into a trap, and so to use you against the Lin Kuei, they tried to brainwash you. Well…long story short, it went wrong and Raiden had to bail you out of it. To prevent it from happening again, he further brainwashed you into believing you were from the parallel world, "Just Earth" and went as far as making you believe you had grown up there, all your life. Does any of this shit make sense?" Sub-Zero asked me.

"Vaguely. But continue."

"So your powers became dormant and that's where you were sent. And a few months later, Raiden calls on me to go and mentor you to bring you back into our world. I didn't know you very well beforehand, you were just your every day average Lin Kuei ninja. You got into trouble, but never anything serious, and not enough that you were ever disciplined before me. You were…well, the essence of normal. If the Lin Kuei can be considered normal. And it took you all of those twenty years to master your skills, and I still think you could learn a few things," Sub-Zero explained.

"So… The memories I have now…are LIES?" I practically shouted.

"Yes, now keep your voice down!" Sub-Zero responded. "The thing is, when you asked me why you couldn't recognize Sonya or Tasia and I said I didn't know anything about it…well that was a lie. I do know why that is. And the reason why, is because your true memories are trying to resurface. You have at least three months worth of real memories from "Just Earth"…the three months where you were completely separated from the Lin Kuei and everything else you knew. And for some reason, you picked up on that…weird…game…and you learned enough about us to scare Raiden into bringing you back."

"Raiden's been watching me?" I whisper-yelled.

"He stopped five years ago," Sub-Zero reassured me. "I know it's confusing, but as time goes on, you'll begin to remember your life in the Lin Kuei, the place where you actually grew up. Can we keep this secret between us, though?" I nodded and we fell silent for a moment.

"So what about the other part…about you getting a little too close…" I asked, my voice husky.

"That…was because of this," Sub-Zero replied. He pulled off his mask and leaned forward, kissing me.

That was definitely something I had not been expecting!

**

* * *

**

What did you think? Please, tell me in reviews!


End file.
